A court in Mali sentenced the nation’s former head of domestic intelligence, Colonel Kassoum Goita, to 15 years in prison for ‘conspiracy against the government’ on Friday. The verdict followed a ten-day trial in which Goita publicly accused the ruling junta of corruption. According to africanews.com, he was also charged with attempting a coup and destabilizing state institutions, eventually being found guilty of criminal conspiracy and conspiracy against the government.

During the trial, Goita denied the charges against him and instead accused the ruling authorities of embezzling funds and subjecting him to torture. Colonel Kassoum Goita was one of the military officers who, in August 2020, overthrew the elected president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in a military putsch led by Colonel Assimi Goita. It’s worth noting that despite sharing the same family name, the two men are not related.

Under diplomatic pressure, the army handed power to a civilian-led interim government, tasked with guiding Mali back towards civilian rule. Kassoum Goita subsequently took up the role of head of domestic intelligence under this government. However, he was dismissed following a second putsch in 2021 led by Assimi Goita, who overthrew the interim government’s leaders and declared himself interim president.

The prosecution had sought a 20-year prison sentence for Goita and five other defendants. All six prosecuted in the trial denied the charges against them and received sentences ranging from seven to 15 years in prison. A defense lawyer stated, ‘We are not surprised by the verdict. We intend to exhaust all domestic legal avenues before turning to other bodies.’