Adama Sangaré’s 10-year sentence: legal battles overshadow Bamako’s land dispute
Court delivers decisive blow in Bamako’s airport-area land scandal
The former mayor of Bamako’s district, Adama Sangaré, has been sentenced to a decade behind bars following a landmark ruling by the national economic and financial crimes chamber. The verdict caps years of legal wrangling over disputed land allocations in the Bamako-Sénou airport vicinity, with the defense vowing to contest the decision.
What the prosecution accused and the defense rejected
The charges centered on alleged irregularities in land subdivision, allocation, and regularization within a zone claimed by prosecutors as state public domain. Prosecutors alleged falsification, public asset violations, embezzlement, and complicity in crimes amounting to financial misconduct worth hundreds of millions of CFA francs.
The defense mounted a multi-pronged challenge, arguing that the acts in question stemmed from administrative decisions made during Sangaré’s tenure. Counsel emphasized that procedural irregularities in municipal actions do not automatically translate into criminal offenses, questioning the criminal court’s jurisdiction over what they consider an administrative matter.
Adama Sangaré invokes presidential directives
Sangaré claimed during hearings that he acted under verbal instructions from former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, who passed away in 2022. He maintained that the land operations aimed to resettle populations from northern Mali amid national reconciliation efforts. He further argued that the affected parcels did not fall within the airport’s official boundaries.
The prosecution dismissed these claims, asserting that the land allocations and subdivisions failed to comply with legal procedures regardless of any alleged political directives.
Financial allegations and contested municipal fees
The prosecution highlighted 49.39 million CFA francs in disputed edility fees and total damages amounting to 483.964 million CFA francs. Sangaré countered that fee waivers granted to certain beneficiaries fell under his authority as mayor. He also denied involvement in fund management related to demolition operations, attributing that responsibility to designated state departments.
The court, however, ordered the payment of 483.964 million CFA francs for demolition costs and 50 million CFA francs in damages to the state, marking a severe financial blow alongside the custodial sentence.
Convictions sweep across multiple officials
The ruling did not spare others involved. Former deputy prefects Daha Keïta and Ibrahim Koïta received ten-year prison terms, while Adam Aïché Traoré, Fatouma Samassékou, and Bourama Komagara were handed the same sentence, five years of which were suspended. Souleymane Dagnon, former mayor of Bamako’s Commune VI and tried in absentia, received a twenty-year sentence, and an arrest warrant was issued against him. Conversely, Sékou Keïta was acquitted on all counts.
The prosecution had initially sought fifteen years for Sangaré, Keïta, and Koïta, and twenty years for Dagnon.
Appeals set to prolong the legal saga
The defense has already signaled plans to appeal the verdict, signaling that the Bamako-Sénou land dispute remains far from resolved. This next phase will examine procedural defenses, the admissibility of evidence, and the fine line between administrative lapses and criminal conduct. The case underscores broader questions about transparency in Mali’s public land governance and the need for judicial decisions that respect due process and individual accountability.
