Post date: Jul 06, 2013 8:54:1 AM
Well-wishers continue to pray for the former South African president Nelson Mandela who has spent nearly a month in a Pretoria hospital.
PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA (JULY 6, 2013) (REUTERS) - South Africa's ailing anti-apartheid hero and former President Nelson Mandela spent his 29th day in a Pretoria hospital on Saturday (July 6).
There has been no update on his condition since the government described it as "critical but stable" last Thursday (July 4).Mandela is receiving treatment for a recurring lung infection, in his fourth stay in hospital in six months.
The failing health of 94-year-old Mandela, a figure admired globally as a symbol of struggle against injustice and racism, has reinforced a realisation that the father of the post-apartheid South Africa will not be around forever.
"I'm just, I'm wishing you papa, Tata Madiba, a speedy recovery. We love you so much, you have changed our lives," said Helen Seleka, a resident of Pretoria.
While Mandela lies in hospital, a row over grave sites has split his family.
Two years ago, Mandela's grandson moved the bodies of three of Mandela's children from a family cemetery in Qunu, the village where Mandela spent most of his childhood, to the nearby village of Mvezo.
A High Court on Wednesday (July 3) ordered that the remains be exhumed and reburied in Qunu - an edict that was carried out on Wednesday night.
The feud descended into farce on Thursday (July 4) when his grandson and heir, Mandla, accused relatives of adultery and milking the fame of the revered anti-apartheid leader.
Newspapers have plastered "Mandela vs. Mandela" headlines across their front pages and editorials have bemoaned the cruel irony of bitter divisions inside the family of a man lauded the world over as the epitome of reconciliation between races.
"Well there's a lot of speculation, but there's some disagreement within the family. I think they are unnecessary at this stage, really, when the old man is at the hospital. I think this can be done, maybe at a later stage, this can be resolved at a later stage, after his hospitalisation. I think it's the wrong time, the wrong time to sort this out," said Pretoria resident Kagiso Mayisela.
Mandela's eldest daughter, Makaziwe, who led the legal challenge against Mandla, declined to comment to reporters after the court ruling. "This is a private family matter," she said.