One of Africa’s most popular singers – Malian singer Rokia Traoré – has reportedly been arrested in Belgium as part of an ongoing child custody dispute.
The 50-year-old suspect was arrested after being extradited from Italy, due to the remaining two years of his prison sentence, according to the AFP news agency.
The long-running saga dates back to 2020 when Traoré was first arrested in France on a Belgian arrest warrant after failing to obey a court order to hand over his daughter to the girl’s Belgian father.
After months of being there conditionally releasedTraoré flew to Mali on a private plane, defying the ban on leaving France until his extradition to Belgium.
Last October, Traoré was given a two-year non-prison sentence by a Belgian court for kidnapping the parents “for failing to give the child to the person who has the right to keep it”.
In June, the Traorés were arrested in Fiumicino Airport in Rome when he entered the concert, about the outstanding conviction of the right to raise children, which had a European arrest warrant. Two months later, a court in the Italian capital approved his extradition.
The singer’s appeal was dismissed last week, paving the way for him to be reinstated. Traoré has been in custody since his arrest, Reuters news agency reported.
His daughter, now nine years old, has lived in Mali since she turned four.
The lawyer for the child’s father, Traoré’s ex-partner Jan Goossens, reportedly said he had not been in contact with his daughter since then.
When he was first arrested in 2020, he was traveling from Mali to Brussels with the intention of challenging the decision to arrest him, his lawyers said.
Previously, the Malian government came out in support of the singer, saying that he has a diplomatic passport.
Traoré’s lawyer, Vincent Lurquin, reportedly told AFP that the singer plans to appeal the two-year prison sentence, which will open a new trial.
He also said that both Traoré and Goossens hoped to “find a deal in the best interest of the child”, thereby avoiding a new prison sentence.
AFP reported that the public prosecutor’s office in Belgium confirmed that Traoré will remain in custody during the new trial.
Traoré is one of the most popular singers in Africa. He has won several awards, including the BBC Award for World Music in 2004 and the 2009 World Music Album of the Year at the Victoires de la Musique, the French equivalent of the Grammys.
Also known for his work advocating for refugees, he became a Goodwill ambassador for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in 2015 in West and Central Africa.
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