The Nobel Peace Prize-winner and revolutionary is still hospitalized and listed in critical condition.
On June 8, Nelson Mandela was admitted to the hospital to be treated for a lung infection. More than two weeks later and his condition has worsened to the point that he has been in critical condition for two days now.
“Doctors are doing everything possible to ensure his well-being and comfort,” said South African president Jacob Zuma, who visited Mandela on Sunday with the deputy president of the governing African National Congress, Cyril Ramaphosa.
“Given the hour, he was already asleep. We were there, looked at him, saw him and then we had a bit of a discussion with the doctors and his wife,” Zuma said. “I don’t think I’m in a position to give further details. I’m not a doctor.”
Mandela was South Africa’s first black president after his 27-year imprisonment, during which he was a leader against the apartheid rule of the white minority in the country. In 1994, just four years after being released from prison, he was voted president in the country’s first all-race elections, and until 2004 was an active political figure.
The world is holding its breath, hoping that Mandela’s condition stabilizes. He has been a source of inspiration across the globe, and though Mandela is an international icon of peace, equality, and democracy, the South African government still wants the media to respect his privacy and, therefore, has been generally quiet on Mandela’s status.
The government’s priority, Zuma’s spokesman said, was to “protect the privacy of the patient and the family” and “uphold the dignity of the patient.”
On Monday, people of all ages flocked to the hospital to deliver cards and flowers to the man who has inspired generations.
Chris Wakube, a 17-year-old visitor whose mother urged him to visit summed it up perfectly:
“We are in the midst of history […] He has done everything for us.”
Photo: Oregon Public Broadcasting