News
South Africa: Nation holds it’s breath as Mandela condition worsens
Former South African President Nelson Mandela. PHOTO/PETER DEJONG /AP
(Reuters) – Former South African President Nelson Mandela is still clinging to life, his eldest daughter Makaziwe said on Thursday.
A deterioration in Mandela’s status after 20 days of treatment for a lung infection forced South African President Jacob Zuma to cancel his participation in a regional summit in neighboring Mozambique on Thursday.
“I won’t lie, it doesn’t look good. But as I say, if we speak to him, he responds and tries to open his eyes. He’s still there. He might be waning off, but he’s still there,” Makaziwe told state broadcaster SABC after visiting her father at the hospital in Pretoria where he is being treated.
Mandela’s fourth hospitalization in six months has forced a growing realization among South Africans that the man regarded as the father of their post-apartheid “Rainbow Nation” will not be among them forever.
“Mandela is very old and at that age, life is not good. I just pray that God takes him this time. He must go. He must rest,” said Ida Mashego, a 60-year-old office cleaner in Johannesburg’s Sandton financial district.
U.S. President Barack Obama, who is due to visit South Africa this weekend, said his thoughts and prayers were with the Mandela family and South Africans.
Speaking in Senegal, his first stop on a three-nation Africa tour, Obama said that if Mandela dies, his legacy will live on for ages. He confirmed he still planned to travel to South Africa in the coming days, in response to speculation he might re-schedule his trip because of Mandela’s deteriorating health.
