Mali: Sacked President suffers stroke

Ousted Malian president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, has reportedly been hospitalized after suffering a brief stroke attack on Wednesday.

Keita, 75, who has not been seen in public since August 18 after being toppled in a coup by the military, is said to have been admitted to a private clinic in the capital city of Bamako on Tuesday evening.

“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.

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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 that the former president had been admitted to a medical facility in what he described as a ‘routine medical check-up’.

The source claimed Keita was billed to be discharged hours later.

Keita’s physician have now repudiated that possibility.

“It’s true, his return home was initially envisaged for today, but right now he is under observation” the physician said.

Recall that the former president was ousted by mutinying soldiers at a base near Bamako before heading into the city, who seized Keita and other principal officers of his government.

Hours later, Keita announced on national TV that he was stepping down.

He was subsequently released on August 27 by the new junta, who returned him to his residence in Bamako, where according to his close aides he has been given limited access to communication.

The junta, who refer to themselves as “National Committee for the Salvation of the People” has said that Keita is allowed to leave the country for medical care if the need arises.

Keita, who was two years into his second five-year term, was sacked following increased agitation propelled by growing jihadist insurgency as well as failure to right the ship of Mali’s dwindling economy.