In Mali, he was nicknamed “the king of cotton”. After being acquitted in November 2021, in a case of “damage to public property” of an amount of approximately 10 billion FCFA, Bakary Togola, former president of the Permanent Assembly of Chambers of Agriculture of Mali (APCAM ) and former boss of cotton growers’ cooperatives, was arrested at the beginning of the week in Bamako by the national economic and financial center before being charged and placed under arrest warrant 48 hours later, in the same case.
1 min
In November 2021, his acquittal at the end of a trial had given rise to many comments, recalls our regional correspondent, Serge Daniel. The Malian Ministry of Justice in a statement had even barely hidden its astonishment after the verdict. A prosecutor then appealed, and the case came back on the table: charged again for “false use of forgery and damage to public property”, and placed under a warrant of committal, Bakary Togola will be tried a second time by a assize court for the same case.
He is accused in the so-called “discounts of the Confederation of Societies of Cooperatives of Cotton Producers of Mali”, of which he was the president. He is accused of embezzlement of around 10 billion FCFA, or 15 million euros, between 2013-2019.
Read alsoMali: a peasant leader suspected of embezzlement of public funds
Originally from the Sikasso region, in the south of the country, at a time very close to political circles – first and foremost to former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta -, Bakary Togola has always denied having committed embezzlement. Today, one of his lawyers claims that his client will make startling revelations.