Salif Keta – the Golden Voice of Africa – has been appointed as the special advisor to coup leader Col Assimi Gota.

Afrobeats stars have eclipsed the 73-year-old singer today, but he was one of the pioneering giants of a generation that brought African music to the world.

In spite of his 50 years of success in the music industry, he remains influential, admired, and well-known.

His infectious melodies and powerful voice led him to several Grammy nominations for his combination of traditional Mandé music with jazz, blues, and Western music styles.

He has tirelessly fought discrimination despite his albinism.

A few African countries perceive albinism as a bad omen, so the Salif Keta Global Foundation was created to raise awareness about the condition.

People with albinism are often shunned and bullied – as Keïta was as a child – and in some countries, like Burundi and Tanzania, they are killed or body parts cut off and used in rituals.

His dream as a child was to be a teacher, but he was denied the opportunity because he would scare the students.

His concerts and record sales have helped him raise funds for his foundation to provide medical assistance to people with albinism – who, because of their genetic condition, are more prone to skin cancer and poor eye sight.

So why would Keïta work as a special adviser on cultural affairs for a man who has led two coups with the first in August 2020 and the second in May 2021?

Three years ago, the Mali military junta seized power after protests against then-President Ibrahim Boubacar Keta (who is not related to the musician). People were uneasy due to weak leadership, corruption, economic hardship, and chronic insecurity caused by an Islamist insurgency.

As one of them, Ke”ta had been outspoken about his criticism of the ousted and late president, IBK.

In 2019, a video of Keïta speaking in the Bambara language and addressing IBK went viral.

The former colonial power, France, which had troops fighting militant Islamists in Mali, was urged to stand up to the president.

Keïta called France’s President Emmanuel Macron “a kid” and falsely accused France of funding the jihadists.

In addition, he has expressed doubt about the effectiveness of Western-style democracy in African countries.

According to him, democracy is not good for Africa, according to the UK’s Guardian newspaper. In order to have a democracy, people must understand democracy, and how can they understand when 85% of the country cannot read or write?”

Keïta called for a benevolent dictatorship for Africans.

Almost 70% of people in 30 African countries say democracy is preferable to any other form of government, according to a survey published by Afrobarometer in May.

Nevertheless, 82% of Malians trust the military “somewhat” or “a lot”.

Therefore, Keïta appears to be in tune with the public mood in the West African state by supporting the junta.

During the coup leaders’ transition to civilian rule in December 2020, he also served on the interim parliament, the National Transitional Council (NTC).

“This is a decisive time for Mali,” Keïta told Bloomberg in April.

The past mistakes must be corrected.”

In what the junta would see as a success, the World Bank said in July that Mali’s economy has proven “resilient” despite high food inflation, cotton production being affected by parasite infestations, and sanctions imposed by the West African regional bloc Ecowas imposed to force the coup leaders to give up.