Mandela in ‘serious but stable condition’

A file image of former South African president Nelson Mandela. Photograph: Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters

(source) Nelson Mandela has been readmitted to hospital because of a lung infection, according to the office of South Africa’s president.
A statement from President Jacob Zuma’s office said Mandela had a recurrence of the illness in the last few days, and that he was transferred to a Pretoria hospital after his condition deteriorated at about 1:30am this morning.
The statement said Mr Mandela, who is 94 years old, is in “serious but stable” condition and is receiving expert medical care..

The anti-apartheid leader became president in South Africa’s all-race elections in 1994. His health has been failing in recent years.
Mr Mandela’s medical condition was “serious this time”, a government spokesman told local television this morning.
“The situation is serious this time but doctors have assured us he is comfortable,” presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj told television station eNCA.
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 29th, 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 Mandela was in good shape, but the footage — the first public images of Mandela in nearly a year — showed him silent and unresponsive, even when Mr Zuma tried to hold his hand.
South Africans expressed hope that Mr Mandela would recover from his latest setback.
“He is going to survive,” said Willie Mokoena, a gardener in Johannesburg. “He’s a strong man.”
Another city resident, Martha Mawela, said she thought the former president would recover because: “Everybody loves Mandela.”
Mr Mandela was robust during his decades as a public figure, endowed with charisma, a powerful memory and an extraordinary talent for articulating the aspirations of his people and winning over many of those who opposed him.
In recent years, however, he has become more frail and last made a public appearance at the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament, where he didn’t deliver an address and was bundled against the cold.
In another recent illness, Mr Mandela was treated for a lung infection and had a procedure to remove gallstones in December. In March, he spent a night in a hospital for what authorities said was a scheduled medical test.