BAMAKO, Mali (AP) – Soumaila Cissé, Mali’s main opposition leader who was held hostage by jihadists for six months earlier this year and considered one of the top contenders in the 2022 presidential election, has died in Paris. He was 71.
Cissé died after contracting COVID-19, his eldest son Bocar told The Associated Press on Friday.
“The doctors have done everything they can to keep him alive, but that is the way of God’s will,” he said.
Death throws Malian politics into new uncertainty. Cissé was number two in the past three presidential elections and many thought he had the best chances of finally winning in 2022.
He was held hostage by Al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadists in March during his campaign for parliamentary elections in his hometown of Niafunke in northern Mali. Under public pressure, the Malian government obtained its release in October, along with that of French and Italian hostages, in exchange for the release of about 200 jihadists from Malian prisons.
It was not known whether a ransom had been paid, although extremist groups have long been funding their operations with such payments from European governments.
In an interview after being released from custody, Cissé told French TV5 Monde that his captors moved the hostages by motorcycle, boat and even camel. He said he was held in more than 20 different locations. Although he said he had not been physically or verbally abused, he described the extremely difficult conditions in the desert and said he was lacking the medication he needed.
Cisse said he could listen to the radio and was angry at the news of the August military coup that toppled Mali’s democratically elected president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.
Mali’s interim leader, Sem Ba N’Daw, expressed condolences to Cissé’s family and supporters on Friday, saying millions of Malians are “in shock” at the news. Describing a meeting with Cissé after he was released, he said that “Cissé’s optimism had remained intact” and said that “the country still needed his experience and wisdom to meet today’s challenges.”
In his last Facebook post, on Christmas Eve, Cissé wished “an excellent holiday of joy and health” to Christians in his country and around the world, at a time when Mali is facing multiple crises – including the coronavirus pandemic.
No immediate funeral plans were announced.
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Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.