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.

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

He was released on August 27 by the new junta, who returned him to his residence in Bamako, where according to his entourage he has limited access to a phone and the internet.

The junta has said that Keita is authorised to leave the country for medical care if need be.

Keita, who was two years into his second five-year term, had been battling mounting protests fuelled by his handling of a bloody jihadist insurgency and failure to turn around Mali’s floundering economy.

Keita, 75, was admitted to a private clinic in the capital Bamako on Tuesday evening and “will go home in the afternoon (Wednesday),” one of his aides told AFP.

The checkup had been scheduled for last month but the former president had not gone to the appointment, the source said.

A healthcare worker, confirming this account, said, “the president has arrived for a routine checkup that was pending for some time. Everything’s fine — he is expected to leave this afternoon.”

The president was ousted by young military officers who mutinied at a base near Bamako before heading into the city, where they seized Keita for 10 days and other leaders.

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

He was released on August 27 by the new junta, which also said he was authorised to leave the country for medical care if need be.

The 75-year-old and his Prime Minister Boubou Cisse were arrested by mutinying soldiers on Tuesday, August 18, at Keita’s house in the capital of Bamako following months of massive protests.

On Tuesday night, Keita announced his immediate resignation and dissolved the country’s national assembly and government.

Speaking on national broadcaster ORTM, he explained that he had little choice but to stand down to avoid bloodshed

He said “For seven years I have with great joy and happiness tried to put this country back on its feet,” Keita said. “If today some people from the armed forces have decided to end it by their intervention, do I have a choice? I should submit to it because I don’t want any blood to be shed”

Before his resignation, there was widespread anger over corruption, mismanagement of the economy, and the worsening security situation with jihadist and communal violence on the increase.