Cheick Mamadou Tall, the eldest son of Malian lawyer Mountaga C. Tall, has been missing since 16 May 2026 in Bamako.
According to the family, Cheick Mamadou Tall received a call informing him that he could bring belongings to his father, who had been abducted two weeks earlier and was being held at an undisclosed location, without charge or legal process.
He left home that afternoon to deliver the belongings, but never returned.
His disappearance follows that of his father, the lawyer Mountaga C. Tall, who was reportedly taken from his home by unidentified men during the night of 2 May 2026. Since then, no official information has been made available regarding his place of detention or the circumstances of his disappearance.
Sources close to the family say Cheick Mamadou Tall’s disappearance may be connected to that of his father and is believed to be an attempt to exert pressure on the lawyer.
To date, no information has been provided regarding the fate or whereabouts of the two men and the Malian authorities have not commented on either disappearance.
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) is deeply concerned about the disappearances of Mountaga C. Tall and his son, Cheick Mamadou Tall. Holding anyone to pressure a relative or influence a third party violates Mali’s obligations under Article 6 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which protects liberty and security of the person and bars arbitrary detention.
The MFWA therefore calls on the Malian authorities to account for the fate and whereabouts of both men, and to uphold every individual’s fundamental rights to liberty, security and protection from arbitrary detention.
