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This is the so-called kickbacks case of Mali cotton farmers, in which Bakary Togora, former president of the Malian Permanent Assembly of Agricultural Chambers (Apcam), and his co-defendants are suspected of embezzling public funds. The trial will last until August 30.
In total, there are more than a dozen defendants, half of whom can appear in court before bail, and they must be compared with the acts of damaging public property, conspiracy, forgery and using forged items. In view of the huge workload, especially the complexity of the facts and the number of defendants, the hearing will last more than a week and is expected to last until August 30 next year, that is, 11 days, depending on the daily trial situation.
These accusations must answer for the disappearance of more than 9 billion CFA francs out of a total of more than 13 billion CFA francs, which harmed the Malian Confederation of Cotton Producers’ Cooperatives (C-SCPS) between 2013 and 2019.
At the time of the incident, Bakary Togola was president of the federation, with Djiguiba, also known as Ampha Coulibaly, as vice president. MPi Doumbia was general treasurer. Seydou Coulibaly, supply representative, Tiass Coulibaly was training, information and awareness representative. Fadiala Coulibaly was administrative and financial manager, Drissa Traor was president of the supervisory committee, which consisted of Djalamoussa and Alou Dembl, and Mamadou Fomba, with Souko Mady and Raymond Dansoko in charge of coordination.
The Federation is composed of four regional federations, namely Sikasso-Bougouni, Koutiala-San, Fana-OHVN and Kita. Therefore, the Mali Textile Development Corporation (CMDT) provided more than 13 billion CFA francs in funding between 2013 and 2019 for the operation of the parent federation of cotton farmers’ cooperatives.
The above-mentioned persons are suspected of misappropriating the funds by using fictitious business expenses. If these crimes are proven, the farmers will be subject to criminal penalties under Articles 106, 107, 24, 102, 103 and 104 of the Criminal Code.
As a reminder, at the end of November 2021, after a marathon week of hearings, the Circuit Court issued a verdict allowing the defendants to leave the room freely, although they more or less risked life imprisonment. Defense lawyers raised the invalidity of the procedure from the outset, highlighting Ohada’s community legislation, in which the assets of cooperatives and companies are not public, but social goods.
For them, the case for prosecution was not strong enough and they were acquitted. Despite the admission of the facts by almost all the accused, their acquittal has since been strongly criticized by most of our compatriots and by the judiciary itself.
So much so that the special session dedicated to the case was described as a judicial fiasco after the verdict. Aside from the composition of the day, this case is clear to everyone and there is no reason to justify the acquittal, because the authors hid their game until the day of the verdict to ensure that the proceedings run smoothly and not let anyone discover the duplicity hidden behind the verdict. The Attorney General of the Court of Appeal, Idrissa Arizo Maiga, said at the end of the hearing that the assurances had been given.
After so much opposition, the Minister of Justice and Human Rights instructed to launch an administrative investigation after deciding to acquit them. Requests were then made to the Attorney General of the Court of Appeal and the Ombudsman of Judicial Services to clarify the matter. As a result, the Supreme Court annulled their acquittal in August 2022 and referred them again to the Special Court.
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