Unveiling the Hidden Gems: A Journey Through Bobo-Bamako-Bobo

As part of a mission to formalize the Confederation of Peoples of the AES, a reporter from L’Express du Faso went to Bamako on September 16, 2024. On the Bobo-Bamako-Bamako road, this is what he was able to observe throughout the trip.

On the way out, we went on Sunday September 15, 2024 at 8:10 am with a delegation of 14 people on board a bus. The departure of Bobo-Dioulasso-Bamako is recorded. A missionary order is in the hands of the delegation to oversee his journey. We have to travel 548 kilometers to reach our destination. Given the state of national roads numbers 7 and 8, we are forced to detour. This is how we take the Banfora route. Arriving in Toussiana, we take a detour to drive on a red lane before joining the Orodara road to go to Bamako, the host city. While on the road to Banfora, at the exit to the right at the customs booth, we are at the police checkpoint. Only holders of valid official identity documents are authorized to continue the route. We continue the route on the way to Orodara before reaching the gendarmerie checkpoint. The observation is the same. After a few kilometers of driving, we face another police checkpoint. Along the way, around 11 am, rain made our progress difficult. We spent about thirty minutes racing in this rain. We are heading for Koloko which is a few steps from the Burkina-Mali border. There, the gendarmerie carry out the fourth check before arriving at the police for the fifth and final check. At this moment, on the bus, a source whispered in our ear that “the problems are going to start”. The woman sitting on the bus has a Burkinabè identity card and says “here, even if you have your Burkinabè identity document, you pay 2,000 CFA francs unless you have an order notebook mission or inoculation”. The same source states that “this includes all Burkinabe or foreign travelers and just before another police check before setting foot on Malian soil, this is the same, you pay the money. Often 2,000 F CFA, often even 3,000 F CFA.” Having just arrived at Koloko customs, the rain has not yet said its last word.
Even with the CNIB you will pay
We move forward only a few meters for the fifth and final police check in the rain. And it was around 1 pm that we crossed the border in the rain that continued to fall in the area. On the territory of Mali, as soon as we cross the border, we are in Hèrèmakono where the first police checkpoint is. At this level, we still note that any traveler who does not have a Malian identity document pays 3,000 CFA francs, except for those with mission orders. Arriving at the Malian customs post at 2 pm, we waited for two hours before continuing our way to Sikasso. The difference in terms of payments on the road is that, on Malian territory, not everyone with a Malian national identity card pays, even 1 franc, while on Burkinabè territory even if Burkinabè have their identity document, it pay the money (1,000 F CFA or 2,000 F CFA). We then arrived in Bougouni where a second final identity document check was carried out in Malian territory. After a 14 hour journey, we arrived in Bamako around 10 pm.
Returning from Bamako, on Thursday September 19, 2024, we left the station at 8:00 am After 1 hour 30 minutes of racing, we found ourselves in rain that lasted only 10 minutes. We arrive at Bougouni, the first checkpoint in Malian territory. The scenario remains the same for payments at checkpoints. After having all these checks, as on the way out, everyone who does not have a Malian identity document pays 2,000 CFA francs, except those with mission orders. In Hèrèmakono, on the border between Mali-Burkina, it is the same comment, only that people who do not meet the above criteria pay 3,000 CFA francs. In Bougouni, one of the travelers of Burkinabè nationality lost his Burkinabè identity document in the hands of the Malian police, shortly after the check. As for the case, we stopped at the station for an hour without her being found. Finally, the situation forces the police to give him a pass so we can move on. After 15 hours of driving we arrive in the city of Bobo-Dioulasso.
Ben Alassane DAO