South Africans on Saturday said their thoughts were with former President Nelson Mandela, who the government said The latest recurrence of his lung infection marks the fourth time in less than a year that Mandela has been hospitalized, according to media reports.was in listed in serious but stable condition after being taken to a hospital to be treated for a recurring lung infection.
It was the fourth time in less than a year that Mandela, who is 94, has been hospitalized for lung ailments. He has been particularly vulnerable to respiratory problems since contracting tuberculosis during his 27-year imprisonment under apartheid.
On Saturday, a small girl and her father stood outside Mandela’s Johannesburg home with a stone on which was written a get-well message for Mandela, who helped end racist apartheid rule and became the country’s first black president in 1994. A young boy brought a bouquet of flowers that he handed over to guards at the house.
Elsewhere in the city, worshippers gathered outdoors to pray for Mandela.
“If the time comes, we wish for him a good way to go,” said Noel Ngwenya, a security officer who joined the congregation.
A statement from the office of South African President Jacob Zuma said Mandela was taken to a Pretoria hospital after his lung infection took a turn for the worse. It said Mandela was receiving expert medical care and “doctors are doing everything possible to make him better and comfortable.”
Zuma, in the statement, wished Mandela a quick recovery on behalf of the government and the nation and requested that the media and the public respect the privacy of the former leader and his family.
Mandela’s wife, humanitarian activist Graca Machel, canceled an appearance at an international forum on hunger and nutrition in London and accompanied him to the hospital, presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said.
“We need to hold our thoughts and keep him in our minds,” Maharaj said. “He is a fighter, he has recovered many times from very serious conditions and he will be with us. Let’s pray for him and help him to get better.”
The African National Congress, the ruling party that has dominated politics in South Africa since the end of apartheid, said it hoped Mandela, known affectionately by his clan name Madiba, would get better soon.
the Democratic Alliance, the main political opposition party, also expressed hope for Mandela.
“Nelson Mandela is a father to South Africa and South Africans; every time he is admitted to hospital we feel saddened along with the rest of our country,” , said in a statement.
On April 29, state television broadcast footage of a visit by Zuma and other ANC leaders to Mandela at his Johannesburg home. Zuma said at the time that Mandela was in good shape, but the footage — the first public images of Mandela in nearly a year — showed him silent and unresponsive, even when Zuma tried to hold his hand.
Mandela was robust during his decades as a public figure, endowed with charisma, a powerful memory and an extraordinary talent for articulating the aspirations of his people and winning over many of those who opposed him.
In recent years, however, he has become more frail and last made a public appearance at the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament, where he did not speak and was bundled against the cold.
