Anxiety over Nelson Mandela health after Zuma skips foreign visit

By Standard Reporter and Agencies

Kenya: Former South African President Nelson Mandela was still clinging to life yesterday, his eldest daughter Makaziwe said in a statement critical of foreign media “vultures” for violating his privacy as he lay critically ill in hospital.

A statement by Makaziwe that his father was in a worse condition at the Mediclinic Heart Hospital where he is hospitalised and that “anything is imminent” sent ripples of fear for the life of the iconic anti-apartheid hero.

“He doesn’t look good  ...  I’m not going to lie. But I want to emphasize again that it’s only God who knows when the time to go is. And so we will wait,” she was quoted telling the South Africa Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) in an interview.

She added: “But I think that for us as children and grandchildren we still have hope because when we talk to him he’ll try to open his eyes ... When you touch him he still responds.”

The statements and activities in South Africa, including President Jacob Zuma’s decision to cancel a visit to the neighbouring Mozambique, only increased the anxiety with many making a perceptible switch in mood from prayers to Madiba — as he is fondly referred- to preparations for an imminent farewell.

President Zuma was upbeat when he announced that Mandela’s situation had improved overnight, but admitted that he remained critical but stable.

Zuma issued a statement shortly after visiting Mandela at the hospital in Pretoria, where he explained his decision to cancel his trip to Mozambique.

“I cancelled my visit to Mozambique today so that I can see him and confer with the doctors. He is much better today than he was when I saw him last night,” Zuma said.

He added: “The medical team continues to do a sterling job. We must pray for Tata’s health (Tata means father) and wish him well. We must also continue with our work and daily activities while Madiba remains hospitalised.”

The president said he was disturbed by the rumours that were being spread about Mandela’s health, reacting to stories from some section of the media that the former President had succumbed.

“We appeal for respect for the privacy and dignity of the former president,” Zuma was quoted saying.

Makaziwe expressed the family’s fury at the actions, especially, of the foreign media, criticising the intrusive nature of their reporting of Mandela’s health.

“The fact that my dad is a global icon, one of the 25 influential people of the 21st century, does not mean that people cannot respect the privacy and dignity of my dad. I don’t want to say this, but I’m going to say it. There is sort of a racist element with many of the foreign media where they just cross boundaries,” she said.

She compared media stationed outside the hospital, where Mandela is being treated, to vultures hovering over the carcass of a lion.

“At this point as a family, as an African, I know that at this time you have to be at peace ... you have to have a sense of decorum. That is what is required. I don’t know how people come here and just violate everything in the book ... Is this because we are an African country?”

Makaziwe wondered why the foreign media had not given similar coverage of the failing health of Margaret Thatcher or Ronald Reagan. “I have never seen it in the history of the World.”

She similarly criticised reporting on activity around what may become Mandela’s gravesite near his rural home in Qunu in the Eastern Cape – and indicated that the site would not be a place of pilgrimage open to the public.

“Family graveyards, they’re not for the public. They are for public once you’ve buried a loved one and you invite people to that. And that is the end. After that it becomes strictly a family’s sacred place,” said Mandela’s eldest daughter.

 Groups of South Africans gathered outside the hospital to “bid farewell” to the former statesman after sections of the international media erroneously indicated that he had died.

ANC and South African Communist Party supporters dressed in military pants and caps sang struggle songs with fists in the air for the most part of the morning. Supporters sang songs while they hoisted an ANC flag with Mandela’s face in the middle.

Scores of artists brought fresh portraits of Madiba, while other artists brought clean canvases to paint on just near the entrance. Scores of children bearing flowers and clad in ANC flags were brought in by their families.

US President Barack Obama, who is on a tour of the continent this week said his thoughts are with the South Africa citizens.

“He is a personal hero, but I am not unique in that regard,” Obama is reported to have said in Dakar, Senegal, the first stop of his African tour.

“I think he’s a hero for the world and if/when he passes, we know his legacy will linger on throughout the ages.”

Obama’s visit to South Africa on Saturday will include a visit to Robben Island, where Mandela spent a majority of his prison term. The White House schedule does not include a visit with the anti-apartheid icon.