Bamako – A judge in Mali has detained the coach of the under-18s girls basketball team, the prosecutor’s office said on Monday, after he was accused of sexual assault.
In a report in June, Human Rights Watch (HRW) cited several survivors who said coach Amadou Bamba had sexually abused or harassed members of the West African country’s set-up.
Bamba had acted as head coach of the outfit since 2016 but he exchanged sex for court time, money and equipment, according to survivors’ testimony gathered by HRW.
The head of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), Hamane Niang, stepped aside from his role after the revelations came to light.
A Malian national, Niang headed Mali’s basketball federation between 1999 until 2007.
ALSO READ | World Basketball boss Hamane Niang steps aside amid sexual abuse probe
He denies he was aware of any abuse on the Malian under-18s girls team, however, and has pledged to cooperate with an investigation, according to a FIBA statement from June.
On Monday, an official at Mali’s public prosecutor’s office, who requested anonymity, said Bamba, the coach, had been placed in detention.
A judge in the capital Bamako has charged him with paedophilia, attempted rape and indecent assault, the official said.
It is not clear when or whether a trial date has been set.
Basketball is a popular sport in Mali, which is one of the world’s poorest countries and which has been battling a brutal jihadist insurgency since 2012.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Getty Images
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