Between these two public figures, a preadolescent caught in a parental conflict that surpasses her.
Serious accusations of sexual assault
However, we are not in front of the family court judge, but in front of the Brussels criminal court, where Rokia Traoré is being prosecuted for non-presentation of a child.
The two artists were in a relationship between 2013 and 2018. Their daughter Awa, born in 2015, grew up in Mali while maintaining close contact with both families. The couple separated in the summer of 2018, and relations between the parents became strained. How to organize the future of the child between Africa and Europe? Jan Goossens wanted to spend part of the school holidays with his daughter. But an agreement seemed impossible. Tension rises.
In March 2019, Rokia Traoré made serious accusations of sexual assault against the child – this complaint was dismissed in Belgium. She refuses to let the child see her father anywhere other than her home in Bamako.
Jan Goossens then took the matter to the family court in Brussels. In June 2019, the judge noted difficulties with the mother in engaging in joint exercise of parental authority. The ruling granted hosting of Awa to the father for a month, from July 19 to August 19, 2019.
Arrested multiple times
But Rokia Traoré did not comply with this ruling. The father decided to take legal action in Belgium for non-representation of the child. In October 2019, Jan Goossens obtained sole custody of his daughter. The Malian singer was then subject to a European arrest warrant for abduction, sequestration, and hostage-taking.
Meanwhile, Traoré filed a complaint, in Mali, against Jan Goossens for assault on his daughter. The Malian justice system granted her exclusive custody of the girl. A legal battle ensues, spanning continents.
Rokia Traoré was arrested multiple times in executing the European arrest warrant. The first time was in November 2019 at Roissy Paris airport; she was released. In March 2020, upon returning to France, she was arrested again at Roissy and this time detained. Released two weeks later, with a travel ban from France, the Malian singer still took a flight to Bamako, where her daughter resides. She put her international career on hold.
Two-year prison sentence in October 2023
In October 2023, the Malian artist was sentenced, in absentia, to two years in prison by the Brussels criminal court for not respecting the family court’s decision.
In spring 2024, Rokia Traoré resumed her concerts outside Mali. She was scheduled to perform in Italy. Upon her arrival in Rome at the end of April, she was arrested and detained in a Roman prison before being extradited to Belgium in November 2024. She spent two months in a cell at the Haren prison.
She was released on January 22, 2025, as an amicable agreement was reached regarding Awa’s future. The criminal court then deemed the appeal filed by the Malian singer against her default conviction admissible. This case was retried at the beginning of March, this time in her presence.
Rokia Traoré, detained for non-representation of the child, was able to leave Haren prison.
“Excellent reunions”
As part of the mediation process – supported by the public prosecutor, Jan Goossens was able to see his daughter in Brussels for three days in June 2025. This hadn’t happened since 2019. It was “excellent reunions,” with waffles, ice cream, books, and visits to the paternal family, according to the playwright’s lawyer.
But after this step forward, a new blockade. The mother agreed to a monthly Zoom meeting. Unacceptable for the father. Since that brief reunion in June 2025, Jan Goossens has not seen or heard from his daughter. “We’re stuck,” lamented his lawyer at the March 3 hearing.
“To avoid mixing everything up,” Ms. Traoré did not want to discuss the allegations she raised against her ex to avoid handing over the child. Facts that are central to the debates.
For the public prosecutor, the entire procedure shows that the accused did not respect the court’s decisions regarding Awa’s accommodation. The charge of non-representation of the child is established.
“But how to manage this situation today, whose consequences are likely irreversible?” questions the prosecutor. “Finding a meaningful punishment is not easy.” The public prosecutor requests a probationary suspended sentence, imposing compliance with the decisions made by the Belgian courts.
Mrs. Traoré’s defense, on the other hand, asks for a suspension of the sentence. “There is still a willingness to dialogue,” assures the lawyer. To be confirmed in actions.
*Alias
