Courtesy of The Associated Press
Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid leader who became South Africa’s first black president, has been hit by a lung infection again and is in a hospital, the presidency said Thursday.
Mandela, 94, has become increasingly frail in recent years and has been hospitalized several times in recent months, including earlier this month when he underwent what authorities said was a scheduled medical test. The Nobel laureate is a revered figure in South Africa, which has honored his legacy of reconciliation by naming buildings and other places after him and printing his image on national banknotes.
“I’m so sorry. I’m sad,” said Obed Mokwana, a Johannesburg resident. “I just try to pray all the time. He must come very strong again.”
The Nobel laureate was admitted to a hospital just before midnight Wednesday “due to the recurrence of his lung infection,” the office of President Jacob Zuma said in a statement.
Mandela contracted tuberculosis during his 27-year imprisonment for fighting white racist rule in South Africa. He has repeatedly had lung problems.
“Doctors are attending to him, ensuring that he has the best possible expert medical treatment and comfort,” the statement from the presidency said. It appealed “for understanding and privacy in order to allow space to the doctors to do their work.”
