Trade unions in Mali have urged prison personnel to strike starting Tuesday until two of their members, who have been missing for several days, are found. Following the military’s takeover through consecutive coups in 2020 and 2021, numerous dissenters have been taken captive and held without communication before facing court proceedings or being released eventually.
Commander Daouda Konate, head of the prison guards’ union, “was abducted upon leaving the mosque on Friday”, a relative said, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
Konate, who has not been heard from since, criticised the conditions and lack of staff in Malian prisons and accused Justice Minister Mahamadou Kassogue of being ignorant about the prison system in a video recently shared on social media.
A security official, who requested anonymity due to their profession, stated that Konate was being detained at the intelligence services’ premises.
Another trade union member, Famoussa Fomba, a nurse at Bamako prison, also went missing on Friday, according to his union.
The two unions declared a strike in a statement on Monday that will start on Tuesday and persist until their missing members are released.
This strike implies that judicial orders will not be executed, prisoners will not be freed, and prisoner visits along with medical consultations will cease, except for emergencies.
Mali is experiencing a political, security, and economic crisis and has been ravaged by terrorism since 2012. The West African nation also confronts a separatist uprising in the unstable northern desert region.
