Mandela 'serious but stable' in hospital

South Africans have said their thoughts are with former president Nelson Mandela, who remains in a “serious but stable” condition after being taken to hospital to be treated for a recurring lung infection.

Mr Mandela, who is 94 years old, was treated in hospital several times in recent months, with the last discharge coming on April 6 after doctors diagnosed him with pneumonia and drained fluid from his lung area.

He has been particularly vulnerable to respiratory problems since contracting tuberculosis during his 27-year imprisonment under apartheid.

A small girl and her father stood outside Mr Mandela’s Johannesburg home with a stone on which was written a get-well message for Mr Mandela, who helped end white racist rule and became the country’s first black president in all-race elections in 1994.

A young boy brought a bouquet of flowers that he handed over to guards at the house.

Elsewhere in the city, some worshippers prayed for Mr Mandela during an outdoor gathering.

“If the time comes, we wish for him a good way to go,” said Noel Ngwenya, a security officer who was in the congregation.

“During the past few days, former president Nelson Mandela has had a recurrence of lung infection,” said a statement from the office of president Jacob Zuma. “This morning at about 1:30am, his condition deteriorated and he was transferred to a Pretoria hospital.”

It said Mr Mandela was receiving expert medical care and “doctors are doing everything possible to make him better and comfortable”.

Mr Zuma wished Mr 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, the statement said.

Mr Mandela’s wife, humanitarian activist Graca Machel, cancelled an appearance at an international forum on hunger and nutrition in London, citing “personal reasons,” said Colleen Harris, a spokeswoman for the meeting.

Presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said Ms Machel had cancelled her attendance at the London meeting on Thursday, and had accompanied Mr Mandela to the hospital this morning, the South African Press Association reported.

“We need to hold our thoughts and keep him in our minds,” Mr 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 Mr Mandela, known affectionately by his clan name Madiba, would get better soon.

“We will keep President Mandela and his family in our thoughts and prayers at this time and call upon South Africans and the peoples of the globe to do the same for our beloved statesman and icon, Madiba,” the party said in a statement.

On April 29, state television broadcast footage of a visit by Mr Zuma and other ANC leaders to Mr Mandela at his Johannesburg home.

Mr Zuma said at the time that Mr Mandela was in good shape, but the footage – the first public images of Mr Mandela in nearly a year – showed him silent and unresponsive, even when Mr Zuma tried to hold his hand.

“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,” the Democratic Alliance, the main political opposition party, said in a statement.