The man whose ouster in 2020 plunged Mali into its current political crisis has died.
President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita died on Sunday morning, at 09am in his private residence in Bamako, sources said.
He was 76.
His death was confirmed by his former justice minister, according to other media reports.
There has been no word about the cause of his death yet. But reports indicate he had been sick for several years, and that he had been allowed to leave the country for treatment abroad in the last few years since his ouster, including at least two stays in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Keita was elected President in 2013 and re-elected in 2018, shortly before he was overthrown by a group of soldiers led by Col. Assimi Goita in August 2020. The soldiers seized power amidst mass demonstrations against the government which was accused of incompetence in its handling of an insurgency and socioeconomic issues.
Mali is currently under ECOWAS sanctions over the coup.
