JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s presidency yesterday denied reports that Nelson Mandela had been discharged from hospital, saying the 95-year-old anti-apartheid icon remained critical but stable.
“Madiba is still in hospital in Pretoria, and remains in a critical but stable condition,” President Jacob Zuma’s spokesman said in a statement, denying reports from several news organisations that he had left the facility.
“At times his condition becomes unstable, but he responds to medical interventions.”
During Mandela’s 80-plus days in hospital, the presidency through Maharaj has been the official source of information about the condition of the revered leader.
But updates have been infrequent and have offered few details, prompting frequent speculation.
At the end of July, Zuma’s office said Mandela was continuing to show signs of improvement after scares were reported.
Mandela was rushed to hospital on June 8 for a respiratory infection and has remained in critical condition for most of the time since.
His lung problems date back to his 27 years in apartheid jail, where he contracted tuberculosis as a political prisoner.
Madiba, his clan name by which he is lovingly known in the country, has been in and out of hospital since last year, with lung related complications.
In December, he spent nearly three weeks in hospital where he was treated for a lung infection and gall stones.
But this is his longest hospitalisation since he walked free from jail in 1990 and went on to become the country’s first leader to be elected in all-race elections.
AFP
