"Former president Mandela remains in a critical condition in hospital," Mr Zuma said in a televised address to South Africans.
Mr Mandela, the hero of black South Africans' battle for freedom during 27 years in apartheid jails, was rushed to hospital on June 8 with a recurring lung infection.
Despite intensive treatment at Pretoria's Mediclinic Heart Hospital, the 94-year-old's condition appears to have dramatically deteriorated.
Mr Mandela's former wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, herself a figurehead of the anti-apartheid struggle, his daughters Zindzi Mandela-Motlhajwa and Zenani Mandela-Dlamini and scores of officials have flocked to the hospital.
Mr Mandela, who became South Africa's first black president in 1994, is due to celebrate his 95th birthday on July 18
He has been hospitalised four times since December, mostly for the pulmonary condition that has plagued him since his time in an apartheid jail.
The family visits, while common since Mr Mandela was admitted 17 days ago, come amid heightened fears for the former statesman's health.
Mr Mandela's eldest daughter, Makaziwe, said her father appears to be at peace with himself and complained about the media frenzy over her father's condition.
"He has given so much to the world. I believe he is at peace," she said.
"Whether these are the last moments with us, to be with our dad, or there is still a longer [time], but [the media] must back off," she told CNN.
Mr Zuma hailed the life of a man seen as the father of the nation whose citizens must accept his frailty.
"All of us in the country should accept that Madiba is now old," he said, using Mandela's clan name.
"I think what we need to do as a country is to pray for him to be well and that the doctors do their work."
AFP
No comments:
Post a Comment