Nelson Mandela 'critical but stable' in hospital after month in intensive care
Posted July 10, 2013 07:00:52
South Africa says former president and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela remains in a 'critical but stable' condition after more than one month of intensive hospital treatment.
Mr Mandela, who turns 95 later this month, was rushed to a Pretoria hospital on June 8 with a recurring lung infection.
President Jacob Zuma thanked the public for their prayers and 'dignified gatherings outside the hospital' while giving the update on Mr Mandela's condition.
He has also thanked the international community 'for ongoing messages of support to Madiba and his family,' using the Nobel Peace Prize winner's clan name.
Family and friends, meanwhile, have offered an upbeat assessment of Mr Mandela's condition.
'With less than two weeks to go before the old man's 95th birthday on 18 July, it's time to celebrate his life. The old man is very much alive,' grandson Ndaba Mandela said outside the hospital.
'When I speak to him he responds. Let us not be in a spirit of sadness but a spirit of celebration because the old man is still with us today.'
Mr Mandela's granddaughters Zaziwe and Zamaswazi have taken to Twitter to reassure followers that he is responsive.
'He is communicating with us, we are staying positive,' the granddaughters said via a joint account.
'He smiles,' they said, adding that he also moves his eyes.
Mr Mandela has a history of lung problems dating back to his time at the windswept Robben Island prison camp near Cape Town.
He was released in 1990 after 27 years behind bars and went on to serve as president from 1994 to 1999.
Although Mr Mandela has long since left the political stage and has not been seen in public since 2010, he remains a towering symbol in South African public life.
AFP
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