Critic of Mali’s Junta Forcibly Disappeared in Bamako

BAMAKO, MALI - Concerns are mounting over the fate of Cheick Oumar Diallo, a well-known critic of Mali’s military junta and former trade unionist, who was forcibly taken by gendarmes in Bamako on October 25 and has not been seen since.

According to witnesses, four gendarmes arrived in a pickup truck and on motorbikes while Diallo was speaking with friends in the capital. They informed him that they had orders to arrest him but gave no reason. When Diallo attempted to flee, he fell into a ditch and injured his leg before being seized, thrown into the truck, and driven away.

Diallo’s colleagues have searched police and gendarmerie stations across Bamako but have been unable to locate him. They believe his disappearance is linked to his activism and outspoken criticism of the junta.

A former employee of the national water company, Diallo was a member of its autonomous union and a whistleblower. In July 2024, he published a letter alleging that Mali’s drinking water was unsafe. He was arrested soon afterward and later dismissed from his position following his release in May 2025.

Mali’s junta has repeatedly targeted trade unionists and critics since seizing power in 2021. In June 2024, the secretary-general of Mali’s main bank union, Hamadoun Bah, was arrested on charges seen as politically motivated, sparking a five-day strike before his release.

Human rights observers say Diallo’s case bears the hallmarks of an enforced disappearance-an arrest carried out without acknowledgment or information on the detainee’s whereabouts-placing him outside legal protection. Such disappearances violate international laws prohibiting arbitrary detention, torture, and extrajudicial killings.

Mali is a signatory to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, ratified in 2009.

Rights advocates and colleagues are calling on the Malian authorities to immediately disclose Diallo’s location, ensure his safety, and end their campaign of intimidation against trade unionists and government critics.