Posted by Salif Keita, a popularly hailed Malian Afropop musician known as the “Golden Voice of Africa,” has been named a special advisor to the head of Mali’s military junta.
This was declared in a proclamation issued by Colonel Assimi Goita, the military chief who overthrew Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, the nation’s elected president, in 2020.
Five new special advisors were named by the interim president in a decree dated August 11 and published on August 14 2023.
The edict is vague regarding the singer’s new responsibilities.
The 73-year-old singer has endorsed the junta’s claim to national sovereignty and called for the withdrawal of UN peacekeeping forces from Mali. She has been a vocal supporter of the junta.
Recall that Salif Keita resigned from an assembly that the military, which has been in control since 2020, had established to serve as a legislative body in a letter a few days ago.
He stated in his letter of resignation that he was resigning for no particular reason and that he would always be “the undisputed friend of my country’s soldiers.”