After the military coup of November 19, 1968, which resulted in the imprisonment of Modibo Keita, First Lady Mariam Travélé also spent ten years in detention, including eight and a half years at the Sikasso gendarmerie. She was released on 1 January 1978, one year after the death of her husband, poisoned in 1977 during his detention in Bamako. She was not allowed to attend his funeral.