He rose to power as a key figure in the 1968 Malian coup d'état, becoming the director of the National Security Services of Mali.
[1] Bagayoko returned to Mali and participated in the creation of the Malian Air Force, and then completed an internship in the United States in 1965.
Together with Filifingam Sissoko, a fellow pilot, Bagayoko contacted Moussa Traoré and Yoro Diakité in planning the coup against Modibo Keita.
Bagayoko and Sissoko brought the paratropper Sungalo Samake from the camp at Djicoroni into the plot and, on the night of November 19, 1968, led groups of paratroopers intended to establish zones of control at key areas in Bamako.
[2] Bagayoko led the capture of the People's Militia, and afterwards set off towards Koulikoro with Sissoko and Amadou Baba Diarra to arrest Keita.
[3] During the trial of Diarra and thirty-two other conspirators on December 10–14, 1969, Bagayoko came to personally send off the first batch of prisoners to the newly opened hard labor camp in Taoudenni.
)[4] Malian historian Bintou Sanankoua, relying on a refutation by Traore, stated in 1990 that Bagayoko's statement was a myth.
Malian journalist Sauti Haidara later stated Bagayoko "turned out to be the only man who, without blinking an eye, dared to tell the creator of Mali's independence that he was no longer president.
[7] In August 1969, just a few months into his tenure, Bagayoko discovered a coup plot from Captain Dibi Silas Diarra, who planned to overthrow the MCNL and return Mali to civilian rule.
[4] The main opposition during Bagayoko's tenure were trade unionists and students, who shared pro-democratic views and desired a return to civilian rule.
[7] Bagayoko was nicknamed Django or more commonly Hawk, and he personally called his opponents salopards, French for bitch or whore.
[6] Samba Sangare, a plotter from the 1969 coup who later became a writer, called the torture under Bagayoko worthy of the Nazi Gestapo, illustrating the unique use of cutting prisoners by broken bottles and electric shocks.
[9] When prisoners in the camps complained, guards allegedly stated that the bottle cuts and electric shocks were not the only way; they could be run over instead, as "accidents as very common.
Businessmen who interfered with Bagayoko's interests were sent to Taoudenni, where they were beaten, drowned, humiliated, had their heads shaved with random combs of hair left, and then returned home.
"[4] By 1977, tensions arose between the gang of three (consisting of Bagayoko, Kissima Doukara, and Karim Dembele), and Traore's government over the political development of Mali.
By the end of 1977, there were persistent rumors that Traore's idea of returning to civilian rule was controversial within the MCNL, and that the committee no longer held planned meetings.
[11] In January 1978, a leaflet titled "Mali, the government under the MCNL / An administration led by the Empress" was distributed throughout the country, criticizing Traore and his wife Miriam.
[11] The leadership of the Bamako police demanded an investigation from Bagayoko, who urged the MCNL to stop presenting the idea of civilian rule.
[13] Moussa Traore, on a radio broadcast, accused the "gang of three"[2] of treason, disclosure of state secrets, slander, and speculation.
Malian politician Amadou Tall suggested that the reason he waited so long was that the execution of Bagayoko only became possible after François Mitterrand became President of France.
Bagayoko told his cellmate Belko N'Die about this and, assuming his imminent death, dressed in the uniform of Djoliba AC, which he had previously run.
Mali was banned form inter-African matches for a year due to corruption between Bagayoko and Malian referees.
However, he used his influence as head of the security services to expel other musicians and lead singers, along with push his band into the National Orchestra of Mali.
In 1976, Bagayoko married Néné Bayaba Sy, with whom he had Caty Assetou, who became famous for supporting Modibo Sidibé's 2011 election campaign.