Nelson Mandela is suffering from pneumonia

South Africa worried about the health of national hero Nelson Mandela

11/12/2012

The population of South Africa worries about their former president Nelson Mandela - who was taken to a hospital in the South African capital Pretoria last Saturday for a routine check-up. Since he had been treated for stomach ache in February this year, the South African population is now following the current events with concern - even if at that time „nothing serious“ could be found.

Because this time it seems a bit more serious: Mandela should suffer from pneumonia, possibly the result of a previous lung infection. However, as the former president's office said, Mandela is in good hands and would respond positively to the treatment - a serious threat to his health therefore does not exist.

Facts about Mandela's state of health are denied to the public
Already at the beginning of 2011 Mandela's hospitalization had worried the South African population: even then it was said that the purpose of the stay was routine examinations that would not give rise to any fears. However, the state of health, which has obviously been worsening for years, is always a cause for concern - also or precisely because diagnoses or facts about Mandela's health are strictly kept out of the public eye.

Mandela in South Africa worshiped as a national hero
The 94-year-old Mandela, who was the first black president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, enjoys a high level of popularity worldwide and is considered a national hero in his home country. As a committed leader against the racist apartheid regime of South Africa, he spent a total of 27 years in prison - in 1990 finally released from prison, he had received in 1993 together with the then President Frederik de Klerk the Nobel Peace Prize and was the following year, the first black leader in the history of the country.

In 2004, Mandela finally retired from politics and since 2010 from public life - after his last appearance at the closing ceremony of the World Cup. Today he lives in seclusion in his hometown Qunu in the province of Eastern Cape. (Sb)

Picture: Nelson Mandela