[6] Towards the end of his reign, Askia Mohammad had become blind, and thereby increasingly dependent on Ali Fulan, the Hugu-koray-koi (Master of the Palace interior).
None of the Askia's sons were aware of this because Ali Fulan stuck so close to his side as aid (at this time blindness would have disqualified a ruler as he would have been expected to lead his army into battle, as well as being a bad omen).
On one occasion, Ali advised that Mohammed's younger son Balla be appointed to the vacant position of Benga-farma (governor of Benga).
Musa in particular was angry at his father and with Ali Fulan; he accused him of turning the Askia into a puppet and forced him to flee to exile in Tindirma in 1528.
Musa marched west and managed to sway some of the conspirators to re-join him, then defeated the rest at the battle of Akagan east of Timbuktu.