US customs broke my instrument - Malian musician

The United States customs have been held responsible by a Malian musician, Ballake Sissoko, who claimed his musical instrument was broken during a custom check.

The artist, according to the BBC, plays the kora, a traditional West African musical instrument similar to a harp.

According to Sissoko, the damage was discovered on February 4th when he returned to Paris after a tour in the US.

He added that he found a leaflet from US customs claiming they had opened the case for inspection. The instruments had broken into pieces when he opened it.

As at the time of this report, the US customs are yet to respond to the singer's claim.

Sissoko posted images of the broken instrument on Facebook, backed up with a statement which reads:

"The strings, bridge and entire, delicate and complex sound system of amplification has been taken apart.

"Even if all the components that have been disassembled were intact, it takes weeks before a kora of this calibre can return to its previous state of resonance. These kinds of custom-made koras are simply impossible to replace," the statement said.



"In Mali, the jihadists threaten to destroy musical instruments, cut the tongues out of singers, and silence Mali's great musical heritage. And yet, ironically, it is the USA customs that have in their own way managed to do this," the statement added.

Sissoko claims he checked in the instrument in a hard case at the airport in New York and only inspected it when he arrived back at his apartment in Paris.

The leaflet from Transport Security Authority (TSA) said a security agent had inspected the case and apologised for any inconvenience caused.

Sissoko has performed in concerts around the world including at the BBC Proms in London.