Colonel Assimi Goita, a Malian military officer who was born in or around 1983, has held the position of interim President of Mali since the 28th of May, 2021. In the coup d’état that occurred in Mali in the year 2020, former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keta was deposed by a military group led by Gota, who assumed the role of leader of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People. Later on, after the coup d’état in Mali in 2021, Goita succeeded Bah Ndaw in seizing power, and he has since been recognized as the interim president of Mali.
Biography
Assimi Goita came into the world in the year 1983. He received his education in Mali’s many military institutions, most notably the Prytanée militaire de Kati and the Joint Military School in Koulikoro. His father was an officer in the Mali Armed Forces, and he followed in his father’s footsteps by joining the military himself. He has joined his life with the Fula woman Lala Diallo, who also belongs to that ethnic group.
Goita held the rank of colonel in the Malian Armed Forces’ Autonomous Special Forces Battalion throughout his time there. This was the Malian military’s special forces organization. He holds the rank of colonel and is in charge of the Malian special forces that are located in the country’s central region. As a result, he is put in contact with the Islamic insurrection that is taking place in Mali. In 2018, he met Mamady Doumbouya from Guinea in Burkina Faso at a training session organized by the United States army and reserved for the region’s special forces commanders. The session was held at a facility in the capital city of Ouagadougou. Later on, both he and Mamady Doumbouya would attempt to overthrow their respective regimes through the use of military force.
Goita had prior experience working with United States Army Special Forces and had received training from the United States, France, and Germany.
Goita is the leader of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People, which is a group of rebels who toppled Ibrahim Boubacar Keta in the Malian coup d’état of 2020 and have vowed to start new elections to replace him. Goita currently serves as the leader of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People. As a result of this vow, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) put pressure on the reigning junta in Mali to allow a civilian to take over as the country’s leader. On September 21st, a group of 17 electors chose him to fill the role of vice president, while Bah Ndaw was selected to fill the role of president. On September 21, 2020, he was given the role of vice president of the Transition, which was a position he was expected to hold for the subsequent 18 months, until new elections were held. The 25th of September, 2020 was the day he took the oath of office. It was mentioned in the “Mali Transition Letter” that the vice president “in charge of defense and security issues” would not be able to replace President Bah Ndaw. This information was provided in response to the request made by the ECOWAS. The “Mali Transition Letter” was released on October 1, 2020.
After participating in the Malian coup d’état that took place on May 24, 2021, Goita was able to assume power shortly thereafter. Both President Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane were taken into custody during this incident. Goita asserted that Ndaw was seeking to “sabotage” the transition to democracy and promised elections in 2022 despite the fact that Ndaw had been removed from power. The allegation made by Goita that Ndaw did not consult him over a cabinet reshuffle was the spark that ignited the coup. It was speculated that one of the goals of the most recent military takeover was to oust Colonel Sadio Camara from his position as the minister of defense. As soon as Goita took back control of the government, he reinstated Camara to his previous position as defense minister.
On May 28th, 2021, the constitutional court of Mali declared him to be the country’s interim president. According to the judgement of the court, Goita should be given the title of “president of the transition, head of state,” with the responsibility to “guide the transition process to its successful conclusion.” On the same day, he announced that he will choose a prime minister from among the coalition members of M5 and RFP.
Afailed attempt at assassination
On the 20th of July 2021, as Goita was worshiping at the Grand Mosque in Bamako during the celebrations for Eid al-Adha, he was assaulted by a knifeman who was attempting to carry out an assassination. After the assailant failed in his attempt to knife the President, he was promptly taken into custody. In total, the security officers made the arrest of two different males. However, it turned out that one of them was actually a member of the special forces who had been mistakenly thought to be the attacker’s accomplice. Five days after the incident, the suspect, who was identified as a teacher, passed away while in police custody. It is not known what caused the death.
