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Bakary Togola, former president of the Malian Permanent Assembly of Agricultural Chambers (Apcam) and the Confederation of Cotton Producers’ Cooperatives (C-SCPC), must appear before the Special Assessment Court on Monday, August 19, 2024, for economic and financial crimes. He and about ten others are accused of forgery and use of counterfeit goods, damage to public property and involvement in the alleged cotton kickbacks.
Among the 51 cases on the list of economic and financial crimes before the Special Circuit Court, the case of Bakary Togora hangs over all Malians, especially cotton farmers. Mr. Togora is accused of misappropriating 9 billion CFA francs from cotton discounts paid to village associations.
At the end of the investigation, Mamoudou Kassog, prosecutor of the High Court of the Third Commune, in charge of the economic and financial pole, and current Minister of Justice and Human Rights, issued an arrest warrant for him on charges of “corruption” and “embezzlement of public funds”.
In November 2021, the man nicknamed “Cotton King” was simply acquitted by the president of the Special Circuit Court of economic and financial crimes after seven days of hearings, although he faced permanent imprisonment.
The unexpected acquittal of Mr. Togora and his co-accused has caused chaos within the Malian judicial system. Idrissa Aliso Maiga, former Attorney General of the Bamako Court of Appeal, expressed his anger about the Bakary Togora case at the end of the above-mentioned special session. He even called the session a “disaster” and a “fiasco”.
The comments by the Attorney General of the Bamako Court of Appeal resonated with the Ministry of Justice.
The current Minister of Justice, Mamoudou Kassogué, who investigated the case while prosecutor of the Third Commune Tribunal in charge of the economy and finance, ordered in a directive an investigation of certain members of the court. News sources confirmed that the judges were paid to cover up the case, which has caused great controversy due to the image of the main defendant.
In April 2022, the country’s Supreme Court overturned the Circuit Court’s acquittal of Bakari Togora. Based on this Supreme Court ruling, Bakari Togora and other detainees were arrested again and arrest warrants were issued.
On Monday, August 19, 2024, he and his co-defendants should appear in the court of the Special Circuit Court for Economic and Financial Crimes on charges of “forgery and use of forged items, damage to public property and conspiracy.”
Unlike the previous hearing, which lasted only seven days, the new hearing will last 11 days, during which the judge of the Special Circuit Court is supposed to review Togora’s case from top to bottom to prove whether he is guilty or not.
Mr. Togora’s lawyers have already taken action. They say that for the purposes of the community legislation of Ojeda, the assets of cooperatives and companies are not public assets, but social goods. For them, the basis for the prosecution was not strong, so he was acquitted at the last court session.
Osman Mahman
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