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South Africans pray for Mandela's health
Source: Agencies |
December 10, 2012, Monday
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SOUTH Africans prayed yesterday for the health of former President Nelson Mandela and anxiously awaited further word about the anti-apartheid leader after he was admitted to a military hospital.
President Jacob Zuma visited Mandela yesterday at the hospital in Pretoria and found the frail 94-year-old to be "comfortable and in good care," presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said in a statement. Maharaj offered no other details about Mandela, nor what medical tests he had undergone since entering the hospital on Saturday.
The continued uncertainty about Mandela's health saw worshipers gather yesterday morning at the Regina Mundi Catholic church in the Soweto area of Johannesburg to pray for the leader. The church was a center of anti-apartheid protests and funerals.
"Yes, it really worries us because he is a great person," church goer Shainet Mnkomo said. "He did so many things to the country, he's one of those persons who we remember most."
Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison for fighting racist white rule, became South Africa's first black president in 1994 and served one five-year term. He later retired from public life to live in his remote village of Qunu, in the Eastern Cape area, and last made a public appearance when his country hosted the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament.
Many in this country of 50 million people view Mandela, who led the African National Congress to power, as a father figure and an icon of integrity and magnanimity amid the nation's messy politics.
Inside the church, a stained glass window depicts Mandela, in a gray suit and blue tie, raising his hands to wave at a crowd. His image stands just next to another portraying a man carrying the corpse of 13-year-old, Hector Pieterson, who was shot by police in the black township of Soweto in June, 1976, as students protested peacefully against the white government.
A statement from Zuma's office on Saturday said that Mandela had been hospitalized for tests and was getting medical care "which is consistent for his age."
In February, Mandela spent a night in a hospital for a minor diagnostic surgery to determine the cause of an abdominal complaint. In January 2011, however, Mandela was admitted to a Johannesburg hospital for what officials initially described as tests but what turned out to be an acute respiratory infection. He was discharged days later.
Mandela contracted tuberculosis during his years in prison. He also had surgery for an enlarged prostate gland in 1985.
While the government has offered no details about who would provide medical attention for Mandela, the nation's military has taken over medical care for the aging leader since the 2011 respiratory infection.
President Jacob Zuma visited Mandela yesterday at the hospital in Pretoria and found the frail 94-year-old to be "comfortable and in good care," presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said in a statement. Maharaj offered no other details about Mandela, nor what medical tests he had undergone since entering the hospital on Saturday.
The continued uncertainty about Mandela's health saw worshipers gather yesterday morning at the Regina Mundi Catholic church in the Soweto area of Johannesburg to pray for the leader. The church was a center of anti-apartheid protests and funerals.
"Yes, it really worries us because he is a great person," church goer Shainet Mnkomo said. "He did so many things to the country, he's one of those persons who we remember most."
Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison for fighting racist white rule, became South Africa's first black president in 1994 and served one five-year term. He later retired from public life to live in his remote village of Qunu, in the Eastern Cape area, and last made a public appearance when his country hosted the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament.
Many in this country of 50 million people view Mandela, who led the African National Congress to power, as a father figure and an icon of integrity and magnanimity amid the nation's messy politics.
Inside the church, a stained glass window depicts Mandela, in a gray suit and blue tie, raising his hands to wave at a crowd. His image stands just next to another portraying a man carrying the corpse of 13-year-old, Hector Pieterson, who was shot by police in the black township of Soweto in June, 1976, as students protested peacefully against the white government.
A statement from Zuma's office on Saturday said that Mandela had been hospitalized for tests and was getting medical care "which is consistent for his age."
In February, Mandela spent a night in a hospital for a minor diagnostic surgery to determine the cause of an abdominal complaint. In January 2011, however, Mandela was admitted to a Johannesburg hospital for what officials initially described as tests but what turned out to be an acute respiratory infection. He was discharged days later.
Mandela contracted tuberculosis during his years in prison. He also had surgery for an enlarged prostate gland in 1985.
While the government has offered no details about who would provide medical attention for Mandela, the nation's military has taken over medical care for the aging leader since the 2011 respiratory infection.
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