In February 2021, Ibrahim Maiga (63) packed his bags and flew from Slovakia to his native African country of Mali. At that time, the coronavirus pandemic was raging in the world. The actor and singer is a vocal critic of the rules that applied at the time, but he had more reasons to leave. He spoke about them in an interview for the weekly
“I was scared, the airports were closed and I realized more and more that I had a family in Africa that I might not see again, because no one knew what would happen. I had to make a decision. My 80-year-old mother, siblings and two children who needed me were waiting for me at home. That’s why I bought a ticket at the first opportunity, saying that I would return. At home, however, I became convinced that Africa is much freer in this regard,” he explained his life decision.
After his return, he gradually realized that he belongs to his native country and is much more comfortable with it. “I found that I am more needed here than in Slovakia, although I miss my career, friends and the life I lived there. I decided to stay until the children grow up,” he added. Maiga is the father of twelve-year-old Fatima and ten-year-old Omar. The upbringing and education of the children are now a priority for the actor.
The children’s mother is Inna, with whom they are no longer a couple. Maiga spoke openly about what marked the end of their relationship. “They say that nature does not like emptiness. That when there is a free space somewhere, everyone tries to occupy it. I was in Slovakia, and while I arranged everything for Inna to come here, the feelings she had for me somehow disappeared. I can’t say she cheated on me, I don’t have proof, but when I came back she had other interests, friends, boyfriends. And she was more interested in them than I was. She was no longer the woman I married,” he confided.
He and Inna sat down like adults and talked about what would happen next. His ex-wife told him she needed time for herself, so they went their separate ways. At the same time, they agreed that they would take care of the children together. “No war, no conflict, we are still in contact and the daughter has no idea that we are not together,” he shocked Maiga. The mother of two currently lives and works in China. The children communicate with her at a distance, and once in a while she visits them in person. In this, after years when he was in Slovakia, he and Maig changed positions.
He also explained why the daughter and son had no idea about anything. “They work daily in both families. During the week they are with her mother in Bamako. After school they come to us, I study with them and we talk about what was at school. More with Fatima, because she has more and she still plays chess. She is the third best in Mali. Omar is the best in the class for the third year, I am a proud mom. They go to their grandmother’s house with their homework and spend the whole weekend with me again,” he described what it looks like for them.
However, in the case of the actor and his ex, there was no ordinary divorce, as we are used to in Slovakia. “We didn’t have an official wedding, only a religious one. And with it, if the spouses are not together for three months, they are automatically divorced. No complications, division of property. I am single, she is single,” surprised. He later married Salima, but this relationship did not work out either. “Over time, I found out that she loved me, but she had no relationship with my children, so we broke up like with Inna,” revealed Maiga.
