After Mali lost the Africa Cup of Nations, a self-described marabout, or traditional folk healer, was imprisoned for fraud after he promised the team victory in exchange for 33,500 euros.
Senegal defeated Mali’s national team 1-0 on Friday in the quarterfinals, according to AFP.
An associate claims that the man, known only as Mr. Sinayogo, received gifts totaling more than 22 million CFA francs.
An irate throng descended on Mali’s house after his defeat, but authorities stepped in and ejected him.
Two videographers who visited Sinayogo said he was being held at the cybercrime section after being arrested on Saturday for “fraud” in the capital of Bamako, Mali.
“In Mali, charlatanism is illegal,” a division officer informed our correspondent.
But “in the heat of the Africa Cup of Nations,” he continued, it would have been challenging to arrest the man while the national team was still playing.
According to a social media content creator close to the individual, who was once known as a political activist, he “proclaimed himself a marabout overnight and made a fortune.”
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