PRETORIA: A critically ill Nelson Mandela showed tentative signs of improvement yesterday as South Africa-bound US President Barack Obama led a chorus of support for the “hero for the world”.
South African President Jacob Zuma, who had abruptly cancelled a trip abroad to be near the 94-year-old anti-apartheid icon, reported he “remains critical but is now stable”.
“He is much better today,” Zuma said in a statement without giving more details. “The medical team continues to do a sterling job. We must pray for Tata’s (father’s) health and wish him well.”
Grandson Mandla Mandela said the Nobel Peace laureate’s fate “lies with God and our ancestors”. “Every improvement in my grandfather’s health is cause for celebration.”
But with Mandela still fighting for his life after three weeks of intensive care, South Africans remain braced for the worst. A large number of family members gathered at the hospital where he was admitted on June 8 with a recurring lung infection.
“I won’t lie. It doesn’t look good,” daughter Makaziwe Mandela said. But “if we speak to him he responds and tries to open his eyes — he’s still there”.
“Anything is imminent, but I want to emphasise again that it is only God who knows when the time to go is,” she told local radio.
Clan elder Napilisi Mandela said late on Wednesday that the former South African president was “using machines to breathe”.
Supporters, including members of Mandela’s African National Congress, sang songs in tribute to the man who led the transition from centuries of white minority rule to landmark multiracial elections. “There is no sadness here. There is celebration. He is a giant,” said Nomhlahla Donry, 57, whose husband served time with the revered leader.
Meanwhile messages of goodwill flooded in from overseas. “He is a personal hero,” US President Barack Obama said in Senegal, the first leg of a trip of an African tour that will see him land in Pretoria today. “I think he is a hero for the world, and if and when he passes from this place, one thing I think we all know is that his legacy is one that will linger on throughout the ages.”
UN leader Ban Ki-moon said the whole world was praying for “one of the giants of the 20th century”. “I know our thoughts and prayers are with Nelson Mandela, his family and loved ones, all South Africans and people across the world who have been inspired by his remarkable life and example,” Ban said.
Meanwhile, Mandela’s oldest daughter Makaziwe slammed the “crass” media frenzy around her critically ill father, likening the press to vultures. “They violate all boundaries,” she said accusing the foreign press of “a racist element” by crossing cultural boundaries. “It’s like truly vultures waiting when a lion has devoured a buffalo, waiting there you know for the last carcasses.”
AFP
