Mali Suspends TV Station For 6 Months For Criticising Burkina Faso

The Malian government has suspended a private broadcaster in the country Joliba TV News for six months.

The channel was closed in November after airing criticism of Burkina Faso’s military-led government.

The station’s management confirmed the suspension during negotiations with the ruling junta.

Mali’s High Communication Authority revoked Joliba TV’s licence in response to a complaint from Burkina Faso’s media regulator. The controversy arose after Malian political figure Issa Kaou N’Djim criticised Burkina Faso’s junta during a Joliba TV program. Burkina Faso’s media authority urged its Malian counterpart to take action, leading to the channel’s shutdown.

Joliba TV has since halted operations, though discussions with authorities to resume broadcasting were ongoing. The station’s suspension was the latest in a string of crackdowns on media freedom by Mali’s junta, which seized power in coups in 2020 and 2021.

Last week, a coalition of Malian media organisations issued an apology to Burkina Faso’s authorities for the controversial remarks aired on Joliba TV. Meanwhile, N’Djim, who had initially supported Mali’s coup leader General Assimi Goita before breaking ranks, was arrested on November 13 in Bamako. He faced charges of “publicly offending a foreign head of state” and was scheduled to stand trial on December 23.

Both Mali and Burkina Faso were grappling with political and security crises, prompting the two nations—along with military-led Niger—to form the Alliance of Sahel States, a strategic confederation aimed at addressing shared challenges.