- South African icon’s condition has become ‘critical’ over past 24 hours
- President Zuma visited the 94-year-old in hospital this evening
- ‘He is in good hands’, according to an official statement
- President Zuma also denied media reports of a cardiac arrest
By Sam Webb
Nelson Mandela is now in a ‘critical condition’, according to the South African president. President Jacob Zuma and ANC Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa visited Mr Mandela in hospital this evening.
They were briefed by Mr Mandela’s medical team and told that the 94-year-old’s condition had ‘become critical over the past 24 hours’, but denied media reports that he had suffered a heart attack.
Mr Zuma said in a statement: ‘The doctors are doing everything possible to get his condition to improve and are ensuring that Madiba is well-looked after and is comfortable. He is in good hands.
‘The doctors also dismissed the media reports that Madiba suffered cardiac arrest. There is no truth at all in that report.’
Mandela, who became South Africa’s first black president after the end of apartheid in 1994, was hospitalized on June 8 for what the government said was a recurring lung infection. Previous statements have indicated that Mr Mandela’s health is improving.
Yesterday it was claimed that Mandela is unresponsive and his immediate family is now discussing whether to withdraw treatment. According to a new source, Mr Mandela’s liver and kidney functions are down to 50 per cent and he has not opened his eyes for days.
He has also had two recent procedures, one to repair a bleeding ulcer and another to insert a tube into his body, CBS News reports. This information indicates that Mr Mandela’s situation is much more much more serious than has previously been reported by South African authorities.
In an interview last week, South African President Zuma said Mr Mandela was responding better to treatment.
Marking the 49th anniversary of the sentencing of the former president to life in prison in 1964, last Wednesday Mr Zuma said: ‘We are very happy with the progress that he is now making following a difficult last few days.’
Following the interview with the ANC leader, a government spokesman told local radio that Mr Mandela remained in a ‘serious but stable’ condition. Daily Mail
