By Oluwaseun Sonde
Namibian President, Dr Hage G. Geingob has expressed sadness over the news of the passing of former President of Mali, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (IBK), who died at the age of 76 in the Mail’s capital, Bamako on Sunday, 16th January, 2022.President Geingob who was grieved by the sudden death on his social platform, said IBK was a personal friend of many decades. “During this difficult period for his wife, the children and the family, my wife and I extend our deepest condolences”.
Meanwhile, Mali’s former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who led the West African country from 2013 until he was ousted in a coup in 2020, died at the age of 76 in the capital Bamako on Sunday, his family said.
“President IBK died this morning at 0900 GMT in his home” in Bamako, a family member told Agency France-Presse (AFP) using the ex-leader’s initials, with several other family members confirming his passing.
Keita, known as IBK, ran the West African country from September 2013 to August 2020, a turbulent period that saw a violent insurgency take over large areas of the centre and north, helping drain his popularity.
The cause of the former President’s death was not yet clear as at this report is filed, while a former advisor who revealed to Reuters that he died at home in the capital Bamako.
