The country’s leadership has been hanging in the balance since the toppling of elected president, Ibrahim Kaita last August over corruption and incompetence in handling insurgency.
Malian soldiers have ousted the country’s interim government on Monday after arresting the country’s president Bah Ndaw.
Arrested and detained at a military base in Kali, alongside the president is prime minister, Moctar Ouane and defence minister, Souleymane Doucoure, sources disclosed to Reuters.
This comes after the government’s announcement earlier in the day of a cabinet reshuffle involving 25 ministers.
However, two leaders of last August’s military junta that took over power, ex-defence minister Sadio Camara and ex-security minister Colonel Modibo Kone, turned out to be casualties of the reshuffle.
Prime Minister Ouane, confirming his arrest to AFP on Monday, disclosed that soldiers loyal to interim vice president, Colonel Assimi Goita forcefully “came to take me”.
The country’s leadership has been hanging in the balance since the toppling of elected president, Ibrahim Boubacar Kaita on August 18, whose government was embroiled in corruption allegations and faced growing complains of unsatisfactory handling of the country’s insurgency by jihadist militia.
Following President Kaita’s overthrow, an interim government, comprised of President Ndaw and Prime Minister Ouane and others, with soldiers holding key positions, were installed and charged with the responsibility of supervising transition back to civilian rule which was to span 18 months.
Before this latest coup, huge doubts have surrounded the military-filled government’s willingness to keep to its promise of complete reforms and conduct of election within the stipulated timetable.
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