Fake Healer Arrested for Receiving Ksh5 Million But Failing to Deliver AFCON Promise to West African Nation [VIDEO]

A self-proclaimed traditional healer is cooling his heels in custody in Mali after failing to deliver on his promise.

His promise? To ensure the Eagles flew away with the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title. The man, only identified as Mr Karamogo Sinayogo, allegedly promised to do his magic and until Mali won the AFCON 2025 title.

For this job, he was given a whooping 22 million CFA francs in donations. This translates to 33,500 euros (Ksh5 million).

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However, on Friday, all came crushing when Mali were beaten 1-0 by Senegal in the quarter-final to exit the tournament at the last eight, just like they did at AFCON 2023.

That was after a winless campaign when Mali made it to the knockout rounds with three straight draws before knocking out Tunisia in the Round of 16 on post-match penalties, after a 1-1 stalemate.

On Saturday, angry Mali residents descended on Mr Sinayogo, accusing him of a fake promise while baying for his blood.

It took the intervention of police to save the man who has since been arrested and is set to be charged with fraud at the cybercrime division in Bamako, Mali’s capital.

"Charlatanism is punishable by law in Mali. However, arresting the man while the national team was still competing would have been difficult “in the heat of the Africa Cup of Nations," a source told AFP as quoted by L'Equipe.

Mali have never won an AFCON title with their best result coming in 1972, when they finished second.