PRETORIA: Nelson Mandela remained in a “critical but stable” condition yesterday, the presidency said, more than three weeks after the anti-apartheid hero was hospitalised with a recurring lung infection.
President Jacob Zuma urged South Africans to begin planning for Mandela’s 95th birthday on July 18. “We must all be able to do something good for humanity on this day, in tribute to our former president,” he said.
The update came hours after US President Barack Obama left South Africa without seeing his personal hero, who has been in intensive care since June 8. Obama spent the weekend paying homage to Mandela, including a trip to the Robben Island prison where the man who would become South Africa’s first black president was locked up for 18 years — a visit he said left him “deeply humbled”.
Obama also spoke to Mandela’s wife Graca Machel by telephone, and met several daughters and grandchildren of the ailing icon to offer support and prayers.
AFP
