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Former Malian president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who has not been seen in public since his August 18 ouster in a coup, has been hospitalised after suffering a brief stroke-like attack, a doctor said Wednesday.
Keita, 75, was admitted to a private clinic in the capital Bamako on Tuesday evening, he said.
“According to thorough analysis, the president was the victim of a transient ischaemic attack. It is an alert, but he is recovering well at the moment,” a doctor at the facility said.
A transient ischaemic attack, also called a mini-stroke, happens when the blood supply to the brain is disrupted for a few minutes, causing stroke-like symptoms such as numbness on one side of the body, vision difficulties or confusion in understanding speech.
Although the symptoms are typically short-lasting, they are often a warning sign for future strokes, experts say.
Earlier Wednesday, an aide to Keita and a medical source had said the former president had been admitted to the clinic for a routine checkup and that he was expected to return home in the coming hours.
Asked how long Keita would stay, the doctor said: “It’s true, his return home was initially envisaged for today, but right now he is under observation.”
The president was ousted by young military officers who mutinied at a base near Bamako before heading into the city, where they seized Keita and other leaders.
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