22 November 2019 :

Mali’s court on 19 November 2019 sentenced the murderer of an Imam to death. The decision was unanimously hailed by the Malian people, and in particular by the Muslim community, who had been waiting for the judicial decision for 11 long months after the murder was committed. For almost three decades, this is one of the rare times that an accused has been sentenced to a capital punishment in Mali.
At dawn on 19 January 2019, around 5 am, Abdul Aziz Yattabaré, the Imam of a large mosque in downtown Bamako and member of Mali’s High Islamic Council, was killed by Moussa Guindo, a 26-year-old man. The Imam was stabbed and clubbed as he was on his way to the mosque to lead the dawn prayer. After the horrific scene, the perpetrator rushed to the nearest police station, along with his knife and his club. Once there, he confessed to the security forces that he had taken the Imam’s soul.
On 19 November, arithmetically, 11 months after the crime, the trial was held in the Assise Court of Bamako, where 7 judges unanimously decided in favour of a capital punishment against the killer of the Imam. Relatives, supporters and disciples of the victim had come in numbers to witness the judgment and said they were "relieved" by the sentence. "Allah Akbar, let justice be done for the glory of God," they were chanting.