Mali national team
By Agency Report
The police have arrested
a herbalist who collected 33,500 euros and promised Mali victory in the Africa Cup of Nations for ‘fraud’ after the team lost.
Mali’s national team was defeated and eliminated on Friday in the quarter finals by Senegal 1-0.
The man, identified only as Mr Sinayogo, collected more than 22 million CFA francs in donations, according to an associate.
Following Mali’s defeat, an angry mob showed up at his home before police intervened and arrested him.
Sinayogo was arrested in the Malian capital Bamako on Saturday for “fraud” and was being held at the cybercrime division, according to two videographers who visited him.
“Charlatanism is punishable by law in Mali”, an official from the division told AFP.
However, arresting the man while the national team was still competing would have been difficult “in the heat of the Africa Cup of Nations,” he added.
The man, formerly known as a political activist, “proclaimed himself a marabout overnight and made a fortune”, a social media content creator close to him said.
Credit: AFP
