Africa prays for Mandela
A file photo taken on July 17, 2012 shows former South African President Nelson Mandela during a visit by former US president Bill Clinton at his home in Qunu, Eastern Cape, on the eve of his 94th birthday. Nelson Mandela in critical condition, says SA President Zuma amid anxiety over hero’s health. Photo/FILE
What you need to know:
- Anti-apartheid icon has been undergoing treatment since June 8 and Zuma says doctors are doing all they can to ensure his comfort
JOHANNESBURG, Monday
Anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela remained in a critical condition in hospital on Monday, leaving millions in South Africa and across the world fearing the worst.
“Former president Mandela remains in a critical condition in hospital. The doctors are doing everything possible to ensure his well being and comfort,” President Jacob Zuma said in an address televised globally.
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 recurrent lung infection.
Despite intensive treatment at Pretoria’s Medi-Clinic Heart Hospital, the 94-year-old’s condition appears to have suddenly deteriorated over the last 36 hours.
“All of us in the country should accept that Madiba is now old,” Zuma 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.”
Mr Zuma hailed the life of a man seen as the father of the nation and globally as a moral beacon that continues to shine long after he retired from public life.
“He is the father of democracy and this is the man who fought and sacrificed his life,” said Zuma, who spent 10 years in jail on Robben Island at the same time as Mandela.
Mr Zuma visited Mr Mandela on Sunday evening.
“Given the hour that we got to the hospital it was late, he was already asleep,” Mr Zuma said. “(We) saw him and then we had a bit of discussion with the doctors and his wife Graça Machel.”
Mr Mandela, who became South Africa’s first black president in 1994 to end almost 50 years of apartheid rule, is due to celebrate his 95th birthday on July 18.
He has been admitted to hospital four times since December, mostly for the pulmonary condition that has plagued him for years.
As the world looked on, South Africans resigned themselves to the inevitability of Mandela’s decline.
Flowers, cards, balloons and messages of support were left outside the gate of his Pretoria hospital, where family members were gathered.
“Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do but to pray for him and the doctors that are helping him,” said Phathani Mbath outside the hospital.
In Mthatha, a rural town in the region where Mandela grew up, there was also a sense of anxious resignation.
In Washington, the White House said its thoughts and prayers were with Mandela, as US President Barack Obama prepares to visit South Africa.
------------------------
Key dates in Madiba’s life
July 18, 1918: Mandela is born into Thembu Royal Family in Mvezo Village in southeastern South Africa.
1940: He is expelled from Fort Hare University College for participating in a student strike.
1944: Officially joins the African National Congress (ANC)
1944: Marries Evelyn Mase — a trainee nurse
1952: Opens the first black law practice in Johannesburg with Oliver Tambo
1956: Is among 156 political activists arrested and charged with treason
1958: Marries Winnie after divorcing his first wife.
1961: Acquitted in treason trial along with co-accused
December 16, 1961: Launch of ANC’s armed wing, Spear of the Nation, with Mandela as commander-in-chief
August 5, 1962: Captured and sentenced on November 7 to five years in prison for inciting a strike
June 12, 1964: After famous speech from the dock (democracy “is an ideal for which I am prepared to die”), he is sentenced to life imprisonment and sent to Robben Island prison off Cape Town.
August 12, 1988: Diagnosed with TB
July 5, 1989: Meets President P.W. Botha and then on December 13 with F.W. de Klerk, who later becomes Botha’s successor
February 11, 1990: Released from prison
July 5, 1991: Elected ANC president
April, 1992: Separates from his wife Winnie
October 15, 1993: Wins Nobel Peace Prize with De Klerk
April 27, 1994: Votes for the first time in his life in the country’s first all-race elections
May 10, 1994: Inaugurated as South Africa’s first black president
1996: Divorces Winnie Mandela
July 18, 1998: Marries Graça Machel, widow of Mozambican President Samora Machel
1999: Steps down as President after one term
2001: Diagnosed with prostate cancer
November 2009: The UN declares July 18 as “Nelson Mandela International Day”.
July 11, 2010: Appears at the closing ceremony of the Football World Cup in South Africa. (AFP)
