{{Nelson Mandela faced a fourth day in hospital on Tuesday where he was said to be in a serious but stable condition receiving intensive care for a lung infection, as South Africans to come to terms with the mortality of their anti-apartheid hero}}.<\/p>\n
The 94-year-old former president was rushed to a Pretoria hospital early on Saturday, in the latest of a series of health scares that have been met with prayers and increasing concern.<\/p>\n
“He is receiving intensive care treatment,” presidential spokesperson Mac Maharaj, who served jail time with Mandela, told AFP on Monday.<\/p>\n
He “remains in hospital, and his condition is unchanged,” the presidency said.<\/p>\n
The government had described Mandela as being in a “serious but stable” condition on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Visitors<\/p>\n
On Monday Mandela was visited by his former wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and their daughter Zindzi.<\/p>\n
His two other daughters paid him a visit on Sunday, while his current wife Gra\u00e7a Machel has been by his bedside since his admission to hospital.<\/p>\n
Little information has been released about Mandela’s condition, but he has a long history of lung problems since being diagnosed with early-stage tuberculosis in 1988.<\/p>\n
It is the fourth hospital stay in seven months for the man beloved as a global symbol of peace and forgiveness and the father of the “Rainbow Nation”.<\/p>\n
The African Union Commission chief, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, said she has heard that Mandela is “responding positively to treatment”.<\/p>\n
“He has done his part. We just pray that he recovers,” said Kennedy Moraga outside a private specialist heart clinic in Pretoria, where he is believed to be receiving treatment.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile access to the revered statesman has been restricted to close family members in a bid to reduce the risk of further infections.<\/p>\n
In late April, President Jacob Zuma and top party officials were photographed with an unsmiling Mandela looking exceedingly frail at his Johannesburg home.<\/p>\n
The visit prompted allegations that the ruling party was exploiting Mandela for political gain.<\/p>\n
The ANC – facing 2014 elections – has lost much of its Mandela shine amid widespread corruption, poverty and poor public services.<\/p>\n
The party and the government on Monday denied local media reports that they had been barred from visiting Mandela in hospital by the former leader’s entourage.<\/p>\n
News24<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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