Suspect in attempted assassination dies

A man accused of attempting to stab Mali's interim President Assimi Goita last week has died in hospital while in the custody, the government has confirmed. Goita, a special forces colonel who orchestrated two coups in the last year, escaped unharmed after the assailant tried to stab him during prayers at a mosque in the capital Bamako on Tuesday. A SowetanLIVE report notes that security agents threw a man into the back of a military pickup truck as Goita was ringed by bodyguards. ‘During the investigations ... his state of health deteriorated,’ the statement said, adding that he died in hospital. An investigation is under way to determine the cause of death.