Zuma: Mandela critical but stable

Nelson Mandela is showing no sign of improvement as he battles a lung infection in a Pretoria clinic where he was admitted four days ago, the South African government said Tuesday, June 11. President Jacob Zuma said in a statement that the anti-apartheid icon remains in “serious but stable” condition while being treated in intensive care. Amid growing fears about the 94-year-old’s condition, family members were seen entering the Mediclinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria to be at his bedside. Security was tightened around the private specialist facility where a dozen armed police stood guard outside and incoming vehicles and pedestrians were searched amid a heavy media presence. Tuesday marked 49 years to the day since Mandela was sentenced to life in prison in 1964 for conspiring to overthrow the apartheid government. Mandela’s latest health scare has been met with a growing acceptance among South Africans that their hero, who became the first black leader of the country after historic all-race elections in 1994, may be nearing the end of his life.

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