Malian Opposition Calls on Exiled Imam Mahmoud Dicko to Mediate Crisis and ‘Save the Nation’

In a dramatic appeal for national salvation, Mali’s political opposition has publicly called upon the influential Imam Mahmoud Dicko, who has been living in exile in Algeria since 2023, to return home and act as a mediator between the transitional government and the armed groups now at the gates of Bamako.

A Plea for the ‘Man Who Can Save Mali’

In a statement released this Monday, opponents of coup leader Assimi Goïta expressed their conviction that Imam Mahmoud Dicko is “the man who can save Mali from the deadlock,” facing what they describe as a “military power that is bogged down, a junta running out of steam, with no clear political direction, no unifying political project, and no tangible results on the security front.”

“In this context of disillusion and fracture,” the authors of the statement wrote, “Imam Mahmoud Dicko appears increasingly as the providential man for a new transition, based on moral legitimacy, wisdom, and dialogue.” They affirmed that “the hopes placed in the military regime born from successive coups d’état have vanished” and that “the nationalist and sovereigntist rhetoric has turned into a smokescreen masking security failures, authoritarian drift, and diplomatic isolation.”

A Nation in a Deepening Political and Security Deadlock

While Mali sinks deeper into a political deadlock, the Malian people are suffering from terror due to the intensifying attacks by armed groups: the JNM, the FLA, and the EIGS.

For the signatories of this appeal, Imam Mahmoud Dicko is one of the few leaders who still retains the trust of a large majority of Malians. “A man of faith, courage, and dialogue,” they stated, “he has always advocated for reconciliation, unity, and social justice. His ability to speak to everyone—military, civilians, religious figures, […] even armed groups—makes him a bridge between Mali’s divided factions.”

A Call for Broad Collaboration and a Return to Ethics

In this appeal, the Malian opposition has pre-identified the key forces in the country upon which Imam Mahmoud Dicko should rely to succeed in his mission as a mediator. They call for the collaboration of spiritual leaders, particularly from the North and center, moderate and patriotic political actors, technocrats, and young reformers. But also for mediators and peacemakers. Finally, they call for the involvement of all the country’s social and economic forces.

The opposition states that “Mali no longer needs another military transition or a superficial dialogue.” “It needs a moral and political shock, and a return to ethics and faith in the nation.”

For Malian patriots, “only a legitimate leadership, capable of reconciling the people with their State, can save the country from collapse.”

“Imam Mahmoud Dicko, by his spiritual stature, now has the historic responsibility to unite energies and lead, or at least inspire, a truly redemptive transition. Mali awaits a guide, not a chief; a man of faith, not a man of power. And in this role, Imam Mahmoud Dicko could well embody the hope for a reconciled, just, and sovereign Mali,” concluded the authors of the appeal.

Source: By Kahina B.-H.