LAGOS JUNE 15TH (URHOBOTODAY) THERE was jubilation in many parts of South Africa on Friday as news got to the country that the ailing former President, Nelson Mandela, is fast recuperating, according to South Africa Press Agency (SAPA).
The information reached South Africans after Mandela’s ex-wife, Winnie, his daughter, Zindzi and African Congress Party lawmakers visited him on Friday at the Medi-Clinic Heart Hospital, Pretoria, where he is being treated.
Photographers rushed into the busy Park Street to take photos of the dignitaries.
Earlier, Mandela’s granddaughter, Tukwini, was spotted at the hospital. She was with three other relatives.
Security at the facility remained tight, with several police officers searching all vehicles entering the hospital’s two entrances.
President Jacob Zuma, accompanied by African National Congress treasurer general, Zweli Mkhize, visited the ailing leader on Thursday.
“Madiba’s health continues to improve but his condition remains serious,” Zuma said in a statement.
Mbuso Mandela, one of the Nobel Peace laureate’s grandsons, said the family were hoping for the best.
“It has been quite intense but we’ve pulled through and we are still united as a family, that’s what’s important. We are so thankful to the millions of people who have kept him in their prayers,” he said.
He stressed that no one was yet celebrating in the family, as the situation could still change.
The news of Mandela’s health improvement came 49 years to the day that he was sentenced to life in prison for sabotage, along with seven other anti-apartheid fighters.
Source: Tribune