Cards and flowers for Nelson Mandela outside the Mediclinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria
Colourful balloons, flower baskets, and South African flags were among the items left outside the Medi-Clinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria where former president Nelson Mandela remains in a critical condition.
People continued to visit the Celliers Street wall on Sunday, and posed for pictures in front of it.
The shrine of messages continued to grow, with organisations also adding their words of support. One get well poster was from the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court and another from the University of the Free State.
White media marquees lined the street, and journalists took shelter from the heat while keeping a close watch. Police continued to monitor the hospital entrance.
Sunday marked Mandela’s 37th day in hospital. He was admitted on June 8 with a recurring lung infection.
The Presidency said last week that he remained in a critical but stable condition. – Sapa
Five people have been arrested since the start of the initiation season in the Eastern Cape, police said on Tuesday.
The arrests were made in different parts of the province since May, Colonel Sibongile Soci said.
Thirty initiates had died in the province during the current initiation season, the provincial health department said on Sunday.
Department spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said in the most recent case of botched circumcisions during the initiation season, 10 initiates were rescued from a forest in Mbizana.
“The 10 initiates’ private parts are rotten. They are badly damaged. Their condition is scary,” he said.
They were recovering in hospital.
A total of 293 initiates were currently in hospitals in the province, and were recovering from dehydration, gangrene, and septic wounds. Some had lost their genitals.
African National Congress spokesman Jackson Mthembu said illegal initiation schools were criminal activities masquerading as respected customs.
“Activities that have led to the deaths of initiates, particularly in the Pondoland region of the Eastern Cape, must be harshly condemned,” he said in a statement.
In some illegal schools, young men had been taken by force and money had been demanded from their families.
“The justice, crime prevention and security cluster must consider… the establishment of a specialised unit to crack down on this growing problem and halt it decisively in its tracks,” he said.
He said those who were arrested had to be speedily prosecuted and the cases hastily concluded. – Sapa
There was little movement on Sunday morning outside the Medi-Clinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria where former president Nelson Mandela is being treated.
Passersby took cellphone pictures and read messages supporting the ailing statesman.
In a hand-made card, Minewa Hu from Toronto in Canada said the world was indebted to Mandela.
“The world is indebted to your lifelong struggle for social justice. I was moved to see my city’s declaration of your honorary citizenship in our municipality hanging in your former home in Soweto.”
Hu said there were many letters at Mandela’s home from other governments welcoming him as their own.
“You, sir, have lived a life of exemplifying courage, resilience and optimism.”
Mandela was admitted at the hospital for a recurring lung infection on June 8. He is in a critical but stable condition. – Sapa
Ailing former president Nelson Mandela is still in a critical, but stable condition, the presidency said on Monday.
“We remind all South Africans to begin planning for Madiba’s birthday on 18 July,” President Jacob Zuma said in a statement.
“We must all be able to do something good for humanity on this day, in tribute to our former president.”
Zuma thanked everyone who had kept Mandela and his family in their thoughts and prayers.
The anti-apartheid icon was admitted to a Pretoria hospital on June 8 with a recurring lung infection.
When he was admitted to hospital, the presidency described his condition as serious, but stable.
However, on June 23, after Zuma and African National Congress deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa visited Mandela, the presidency announced that his condition had deteriorated.
“The condition of former president Nelson Mandela, who is still in hospital in Pretoria, has become critical,” spokesman Mac Maharaj said in a statement at the time.
He said Mandela’s doctors had told Zuma and Ramaphosa that his condition had become critical in the past 24 hours.
Zuma visited him again on Wednesday. In an official update on Thursday, the presidency said Mandela’s condition had improved, but remained critical, but stable.
After the visit, Zuma cancelled his trip to Mozambique, where he was due to attend a Southern African Development Community infrastructure investment conference.
A steady flow of family members had visited Mandela at the Medi-Clinic Heart Hospital, in Pretoria, since his admission. – Sapa
Scene at the Medi-clinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria
by Laszlo Trankovits
“Viva Mandela! Viva Mandela!” sing the colourfully dressed women dancing in front of the hospital in Pretoria. Children bring pictures they have drawn, teddy bears, dolls and balloons, while adults lay down bouquets and greeting cards.
The closely guarded hospital is increasingly a place of pilgrimage. Behind its walls, national hero Nelson Mandela is struggling for his life.
At night, candles burn in front of the hospital. People are often seen praying together. During the day there is a lot of singing, especially the old anthems of the ANC liberation movement, now South Africa’s ruling party.
Everyone praises the achievements of the now seriously ill former president. A wealthy businessman was permitted to release 100 white doves into the sky on Tuesday in recognition of the work towards reconciliation of the father of South African democracy.
All of South Africa is agitated. Whether in offices, businesses or government offices, in the huts of townships such as Khayelitsha or the luxury villas in Camps Bay and Constantia: Everywhere, radios and televisions chatter constantly, everyone following the news spellbound.
The fate of the grand old man of South Africa is on everyone’s lips. “Let him die with dignity at last,” Cape Town businesswoman Glini Le Roux said, articulating what many are thinking.
The media, who have besieged the hospital for weeks in tents, caravans and satellite vans, have come in for criticism. Mandela’s eldest surviving daughter Makaziwe called foreign journalists camped outside the building “vultures” who were “waiting for the last carcasses.”
“There is an element of racism to their attitude. That is the image that we have as a family,” she said in a TV interview.
Mandela’s struggle is increasingly affecting public life. South Africa’s politicians have put aside all their plans. After President Jacob Zuma hurried to Mandela’s bedside on Wednesday, he announced he would not take part in a regional summit in Mozambique.
Many took this as a sign that Mandela was now dying – or even already dead, as some sensationalist reports had it. On Thursday, there was a surprise: Following his second visit to Mandela’s bedside in 24 hours, Zuma reported his condition had improved.
Mandela’s health has weighed on the visit of US President Barack Obama, who is expected in Johannesburg on Friday with an entourage of about 1,000 people.
“The US diplomats here are deeply concerned,” one of them said, given what would happen in the event of Mandela’s death and the subsequent national mourning.
They know that if Mandela died, the president’s agenda, with a visit to Soweto, academic honors in Johannesburg and Cape Town and a keynote speech in Cape Town – probably on the future of Africa – would be impossible. – dpa
US President Barack Obama flies to South Africa Friday hoping to pay homage to the legacy of his critically ill hero Nelson Mandela, who is fighting for his life in hospital.
Mandela’s ill health means the two men, who shattered racial boundaries on either side of the Atlantic, are not expected to have a long-anticipated meeting for the cameras.
Still, reflections on Mandela’s extraordinary journey from prisoner to president are likely to permeate Obama’s three-day stay.
Mandela, who turns 95 next month, was rushed to hospital three weeks ago with a recurrent lung disease and has since appeared close to death.
On the eve of the visit, South Africa’s first black president was said to be in a critical condition, but had stabilised since a scare forced his successor Jacob Zuma to cancel a trip to neighbouring Mozambique.
“He is much better today,” said Zuma after seeing Mandela on Thursday for the second time in less than 24 hours.
Yet South Africans, including Mandela’s family, remain braced for the worst.
“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.
Meanwhile Obama, the United States’s first black president, led a chorus of support for the man he dubbed a “hero for the world.”
Mandela’s plight has lent a deeply poignant tone to the visit, around which Obama has built a three-nation Africa tour, and his plans could yet be upended by sudden developments in the ex-president’s condition.
“The president will be speaking to the legacy of Nelson Mandela and that will be a significant part of our time in South Africa,” said deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes.
“The president will treasure any opportunity he has to celebrate that legacy.”
The White House says it is in the hands of the Mandela family and the South African authorities on any aspect of the visit.
“We will obviously be very deferential to the developments that take place and the wishes of the family and the South African government,” Rhodes said.
A visit by Obama to Mandela’s former jail cell on Robben Island, off Cape Town on Sunday would now take on extra “profundity”, he added.
Speaking in Senegal on the first leg of his long-awaited African trip, Obama described Mandela as “a personal hero.”
“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.”
The US president recalled how Mandela had inspired him to take up political activity, when he campaigned for the anti-apartheid movement as a student in the late 1970s.
South Africans have also been marking the life of a man who led their country out of centuries of white rule.
Outside Mandela’s hospital a wall of messages and flowers has become the focal point for a nation saying a long goodbye to one of the greatest figures of the 20th century.
“There is no sadness here. There is celebration. He is a giant,” said Nomhlahla Donry, 57, whose husband served time with the revered leader.
Mandela has been hospitalised four times since December, mostly for a stubborn lung infection.
The man once branded a terrorist by the United States and Britain walked free from prison near Cape Town in 1990.
He went on to negotiate an end to white minority rule and won South Africa’s first fully democratic elections in 1994.
He forged a path of racial reconciliation during his single term as president, before taking up a new role as a roving elder statesman and leading AIDS campaigner.
He stepped back from public life in 2004 and has not been seen in public since the football World Cup finals in South Africa in 2010.
But Mandela still draws vast global interest, interest which now appears to be wearing on his family.
Mandela’s oldest daughter Makaziwe on Thursday 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.”
With his health now fading, Mandela’s supporters are starting to show signs of resignation — while preparing to celebrate his legacy.
In the rural village of Qunu where he grew up amid cattle and mud-walled huts, 93-year-old Keqane Keledwane said she was not ready to say goodbye to her neighbour.
“I want him to get well. I don’t want to be the only one left behind,” said Keledwane, who lives across the road from Mandela’s house. “I wish him a long life, my old friend.” – AFP
Former president Nelson Mandela’s condition has improved, the presidency said on Thursday.
“President Jacob Zuma visited former president Nelson Mandela in hospital in Pretoria today, 27 June, and was informed by the medical team that Madiba’s condition has improved during the course of the night.
“He remains critical, but is now stable.”
Zuma added: “I cancelled my visit to Mozambique today so that I can see him and confer with the doctors. He is much better today than he was when I saw him last night.
“The medical team continues to do a sterling job. We must pray for Tata’s health and wish him well. We must also continue with our work and daily activities while Madiba remains hospitalised.”
The presidency’s update contrasted with remarks by Mandela’s eldest daughter that her father did not look well and that the family was living in uncertainty.
“Yes. Tata’s [father] situation is critical. I’m not going to lie. He does not look good,” Makaziwe Mandela said.
She told SABC television she last visited Mandela on Wednesday.
“I can reiterate that Tata is very critical, that anything is imminent, but I want to emphasise again that it is only God who knows when the time to go is.” – Sapa
The throng outside the Medi-clinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria
A convoy of four luxury vehicles fitted with blue lights arrived at the Pretoria hospital on Thursday where former president Nelson Mandela remains critically ill.
Three BMWs and a Mercedes-Benz Vito minivan passed through a security checkpoint at one of the hospital’s entrances. It could not immediately be confirmed whether President Jacob Zuma was in one of the cars.
The convoy arrived not long after Mandela’s relatives left the hospital.
The family members broke their usual visit routine and collected flowers well-wishers had placed outside the Medi-Clinic Heart Hospital.
Ndileka Mandela, a granddaughter of the anti-apartheid icon, said he was in a critical, but stable condition.
Another grandchild, Zoleka Mandela, said it had been a tough time for the family.
“He’s stable, and we’d like to thank everyone for their support,” Zoleka Mandela said.
Ndileka Mandela said the public exposure had not been easy for the family to deal with.
“They’re [the family] anxious; he’s critical but stable. Lots of comfort from the messages of support. It’s harder going through this in the public eye.” – Sapa
Family members arrived on Thursday at the Pretoria hospital where former president Nelson Mandela is critically-ill with a recurring lung infection.
His daughter Makaziwe Mandela arrived in a red Range Rover, entering the Medi-Clinic Heart Hospital’s Park Street gates at 10.15am.
Earlier, Democratic Alliance spokesman Mmusi Maimane arrived to place flowers and a card at a “wall of well-wishes”, which is fast running out of space.
Maimane said he wanted to express his gratitude to the anti-apartheid icon and to show support for the medical team caring for him.
“Nelson Mandela is not only the former president, the liberator. There’s an overwhelming feeling in the country when all of us think about what is happening here.
“We’ve come to relay our thoughts to the family as well,” Maimane said on his way to the Celliers Street entrance.
The Salvation Army also showed its support for the former president.
“This is a struggle of an old man who left a mark for the country; we say to him that God loves him. Lift up your head and look up to God and don’t lose hope,” said Salvation Army leader William Langa.
He and the Salvation Army choir sang and prayed outside the hospital for Mandela’s recovery.
Well-wishers of different nationalities also arrived at the hospital to place flowers and messages of hope.
“We just want to him to get better,” Spaniard Lupita Marcos, now living in South Africa, said with tears in her eyes.
On Wednesday, the presidency announced that President Jacob Zuma had cancelled a scheduled trip to Mozambique on Thursday, after visiting Mandela and finding him “still in a critical condition”.
Zuma was supposed to attend a Southern African Development Community regional summit.
He left the hospital at 10.15pm on Wednesday in a black BMW, escorted by a number of official cars with blue police lights.
Meanwhile, scores of journalists milled around outside the hospital.
Several, mainly international broadcasters, were conducting live crossings.
Numerous tents, generators, broadcasting cameras on tripods, and outside broadcast vans have become a feature on the street’s pavement since Mandela was admitted on June 8.
Tshwane metro police officers were parked nearby. Police and hospital guards continue to man the hospital’s entrances, and search cars entering the premises. – Sapa
Nine police officers were manning the entrance of the Pretoria hospital where critically-ill former president was being treated on Thursday.
The officers were screening all vehicles entering the hospital through the Park Street entrance at 6am.
Another police contingent was manning the other entrance on Celliers Street.
Despite the biting cold, local and international media started regrouping outside the hospital after 5am.
A dozen candles burnt through the night next to the Celliers Street entrance.
The candles were placed next to a miniature art gallery established by well-wishers on the security wall of the Medi-Clinic Heart hospital in Arcadia, east of Pretoria.
Numerous passers-by momentarily stopped on Thursday morning, observing the various presents brought for Madiba.
Multicoloured balloons, flowers, pictures and paintings of Madiba, hundreds of get-well-soon cards, flags and banners totally eclipsed the Medi-Clinic signboard at the Celliers Street entrance.
Some of the messages read: “No one knows the time, including Jesus and the angels, only God knows. No one will take you from us except our heavenly father. From Lynel Dlamini”
A message printed in a large frame read: “From the bottom of our hearts, we as Northern Sudanese love you and pray for you. We pray for our hero, our man Madiba to be out of this sickness with all power render[ed] from Allah the Almighty.”
Another well-wisher wrote: “Tata Madiba. You are in my prayers. A father to our country. One we will always look up to. Sending you all my love and well wishes from Cape Town. Love you always. From Charne Snyders”.
Others wrote: “Madiba you are my hero. Will pray forever for you. From Judia Tivane Holm [from] Mozambique”.
“Madiba be well. Long live freedom. Long live Justice. Long live hope. From Shabana Azmi [and] Sandeep Chachna [from] India
“I will always love you Tata. From Johanisa Ruiters. From Noupoort, Northern Cape.”
Before 3am, most journalists had left and only a handful were milling around near the hospital.
Numerous tents, generators, broadcasting cameras on tripods and broadcast vans had become a permanent feature on the street’s sidewalk since Madiba was admitted for a recurring lung infection on June 8.
Tshwane metro police officers were parked near the large fleet of media cars, which occupied all the parking spots near the entrance.
The metro police barricaded Celliers Street, allowing media vehicles and cars of residents of the street.
On Wednesday, President Jacob Zuma left the hospital at 10.15pm in a black BMW. He was escorted by a number of official cars with blue flashing police lights, which waited for him a street away from the hospital’s Park street entrance.
Zuma was followed by Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula in a black Lexus.
Shortly after Zuma’s visit, the presidency said that Zuma had cancelled his visit to Mozambique on Thursday.
“President Zuma has decided to cancel his visit to Maputo, Mozambique tomorrow June 27, where he was due to attend an SA Development Community Summit regional infrastructure investment conference,” spokesman Mac Maharaj said in a statement. – Sapa
A dozen candles burnt through the night on Thursday at the Pretoria hospital where critically ill former president Nelson Mandela is being treated.
The candles were placed next to a miniature art gallery established by well-wishers on the security wall of the Medi-Clinic Heart hospital in Arcadia, east of Pretoria.
Multicoloured balloons, flowers, pictures and paintings of Madiba, hundreds of get-well-soon cards, flags and banners totally eclipsed the Medi-Clinic signboard at the Celliers Street entrance.
The tributes and messages of support were pasted at the entrance by people from all walks of life, addressed to the celebrated anti-apartheid icon.
Some of the messages read: “No one knows the time, including Jesus and the angels, only God knows. No one will take you from us except our heavenly father. From Lynel Dlamini”
A message printed in a large frame read: “From the bottom of our hearts, we as Northern Sudanese love you and pray for you. We pray for our hero, our man Madiba to be out of this sickness with all power render[ed] from Allah the Almighty.”
Another well-wisher wrote: “Tata Madiba. You are in my prayers. A father to our country. One we will always look up to. Sending you all my love and well wishes from Cape Town. Love you always. From Charne Snyders”.
Others wrote: “Madiba you are my hero. Will pray forever for you. From Judia Tivane Holm [from] Mozambique”.
“Madiba be well. Long live freedom. Long live Justice. Long live hope. From Shabana Azmi [and] Sandeep Chachna [from] India
“I will always love you Tata. From Johanisa Ruiters. From Noupoort, Northern Cape.”
Before 3am, most journalists had left and only a few were milling around near the hospital.
After midnight, several news crews, mainly international broadcasters, were doing live crossings near the Celliers Street entrance.
Numerous tents, generators, broadcasting cameras on tripods and outside broadcast vans have become a permanent feature on the street’s sidewalk since Madiba was admitted for a recurring lung infection on June 8.
Tshwane metro police officers were parked near the large fleet of media cars, which occupied all the parking spots near the entrance.
Vehicles were entering the Medi-Clinic Heart Hospital sporadically through the entrance along Park Street. The Celliers Street gates were closed for the night.
Late on Wednesday, President Jacob Zuma left the hospital at 10.15pm in a black BMW. He was escorted by a number of official cars with blue flashing police lights, which waited for him a street away from the hospital’s Park street entrance.
Zuma was followed by Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula in a black Lexus.
He arrived at the hospital just before 10pm. Mapisa-Nqakula arrived at 9.30pm.
Shortly after Zuma’s visit, the presidency said that Zuma had cancelled his visit to Mozambique on Thursday.
“President Zuma has decided to cancel his visit to Maputo, Mozambique tomorrow June 27, where he was due to attend an SA Development Community Summit regional infrastructure investment conference,” spokesman Mac Maharaj said in a statement.
Earlier in the evening, Mandela’s eldest daughter Makaziwe Mandela left the hospital at 6.20pm in a red Range Rover.
Thirty-five minutes earlier Mandela’s ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela left the hospital after her second visit for the day.
She left at 5.45pm after spending an hour at the hospital.
Two hours earlier, Madikizela-Mandela left at 2.45pm along with Mandela’s daughters Makaziwe and Zindzi Mandela as well as his grandchildren Ndaba and Ndileka Mandela, after arriving at 1.45pm.
Both Madikizela-Mandela’s visits were an hour long, her shortest since the presidency announced the former anti-apartheid icon’s condition deteriorated on Sunday evening.
The country’s former surgeon general, Dr Vejay Ramlakan, arrived at the hospital earlier on Wednesday. He stepped down earlier this year.
He returned in the early evening.
The presidency said on Tuesday that Mandela remained in a critical condition.
“[Mandela’s] condition remains unchanged in hospital, and doctors continue to do their best to ensure his recovery, well-being and comfort,” Maharaj said in a statement. – Sapa
Nelson Mandela is on life support, an elder in the South African icon’s clan said Wednesday, as President Jacob Zuma called off a scheduled trip to Mozambique.
“Yes, he is using machines to breathe,” Napilisi Mandela told AFP after visiting the anti-apartheid hero. “It is bad, but what can we do.”
Zuma cancelled a trip scheduled for Thursday after he “found him to be still in a critical condition”, a statement from the presidency said. – AFP
Cards and flowers for Nelson Mandela outside the Mediclinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria
Burning candles, bouquets of pink and red flowers, paintings and hundreds of messages at the entrance of a Pretoria hospital on Wednesday urged critically-ill former president Nelson Mandela to soldier on.
Well-wishers have consistently registered support for Mandela in different forms, transforming the Medi-Clinic Heart Hospital’s security wall into a miniature art gallery.
The celebrated anti-apartheid icon was admitted at the facility in the early hours of June 8 for a recurring lung infection.
The catalogue of presents, get-well-soon cards, mainly handwritten on cardboard, eclipsed the hospital’s signpost at the entrance on Celliers Street.
A card attached to a white teddy bear read: “Dearest Madiba. Thank you for everything you have done for our country. You are and will always be a true legend and a grandfather to all. From Alphonso Tania”.
Another read: “Tata Madiba, the Lord knows the plans of his children. May you get better, but even if you don’t, we will still love you as a nation. [From] Lwandile”.
Three candles were burning slowly near the messages. Many balloons, including several from a popular pizza outlet, were tied with ribbon onto bunches of flowers.
Security at the private hospital has been upscaled since Madiba was admitted.
After 5am on Wednesday, several police officers started screening vehicles entering the facility.
Despite the cold, scores of journalists from local and international media houses stayed outside the hospital.
Several broadcast vans still had their engines running. The news crews also set up generators for back up power.
Tshwane metro police officers parked near journalists on Celliers street. Numerous police patrol cars were also in the area.
Mandela’s home in Houghton was quiet on Wednesday morning, with police cars occasionally patrolling the area.
Around 1.10am three cars and one van from the Johannesburg metro police came down 4th Street, and turned into the street where Mandela’s house is located.
The van at the back of the patrol switched on its hazard lights, reversed and parked in the street in front of the gate before flashing its headlights.
About eight officers got out of the vehicles and had a discussion in front of the gate for 10 minutes before they all got back into the cars and drove off slowly.
Many Mandela family members, politicians, socialites and religious leaders had visited Madiba at the hospital after he was admitted for a recurring lung infection on June 8.
On Tuesday, Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and Pumla-Makaziwe Mandela visited the Medi-Clinic Heart hospital, in Arcadia, east of Pretoria.
Mapisa-Nqakula arrived in a black Mercedes-Benz with blue flashing police lights shortly before 7pm.
Minutes earlier Mandela’s eldest daughter, Pumla Makaziwe-Mandela, and his granddaughters Tukwini and Ndileka Mandela, arrived at the hospital in a red Range Rover.
Shortly before their arrival, Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town Thabo Makgoba left the hospital.
Madiba’s step-daughter Jozina Machel was also at the hospital.
Controversial businessman Kenny Kunene arrived at the hospital’s Celliers street entrance to place flowers and speak to the media.
After Kunene’s visit, more Pretoria metro police officers arrived at the entry point.
They cordoned off Celliers Street where it meets with Park Street.
Tshwane mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa arrived to check on the police officers and left after a brief discussion with them.
Earlier on Tuesday, the presidency confirmed that Mandela remained in a critical condition.
“[Mandela’s] condition remains unchanged in hospital, and doctors continue to do their best to ensure his recovery, wellbeing, and comfort,” spokesman Mac Maharaj said in a statement. – Sapa
Former president Nelson Mandela remains in a critical condition in a Pretoria hospital, the presidency said on Tuesday.
“[Mandela’s] condition remains unchanged in hospital, and doctors continue to do their best to ensure his recovery, well-being and comfort,” spokesman Mac Maharaj said in a statement.
He said President Jacob Zuma thanked the public for their ongoing support and understanding.
Zuma said: “We must support him and support his family.
“We must demonstrate our love and appreciation for his leadership during the struggle for liberation and in our first few years of freedom and democracy by living out his legacy and promoting unity, non-racialism, non-sexism and prosperity in our country.”
Zuma also urged that Mandela and his family be shown sensitivity, dignity and privacy at this time.
The 94-year-old ailing icon was admitted to hospital on June 8 because of a recurring lung infection.
At the time, the presidency said Mandela was in a “serious but stable” condition.
However, on Sunday the presidency said his condition had become critical.
Mandela turns 95 on July 18.
Zuma said: “We must all be planning what to do next month in marking our 67 minutes of doing good for humanity as called upon by Madiba to do so, when he launched the International Mandela Day campaign.
“Let us make it the biggest Mandela Day ever on July 18, focusing on doing good all over the country.” – Sapa
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