Mandela remains in hospital for 5th day

JOHANNESBURG: For the fifth straight day, former South African President Nelson was in a Pretoria hospital on Wednesday, being treated for a recurring lung infection.

The 94-year-old icon was hospitalized on Saturday. Two of Mandela’s daughters and his former wife visited the hospital where Mandela is staying on Tuesday. President Jacob Zuma called Mandela’s situation “very serious” but said he has stabilized.

Mandela, the leader of South Africa’s anti-apartheid movement, spent 27 years in prison during white racist rule. He was freed in 1990, and then embarked on peacemaking efforts during the tense transition that saw the demise of the apartheid system and his own election asSouth Africa’s first black president in 1994.

His admission to a hospital in Pretoria, the capital, is Mandela’s fourth time being admitted to a hospital for treatment since December.