Cars line up outside Mandela's home
2011-01-31 15:34
Johannesburg - There was a lot of movement outside the house of former president Nelson Mandela in Houghton on Monday afternoon, three days after his discharge from Milpark Hospital.
At about 15:00, several cars were seen pulling up outside the house.
Some of the visitors were seen carrying briefcases. The cars lined the street for some distance past the property.
This followed the arrival of Mandela's grandson Mandla in a silver Mercedes-Benz at 11:00.
President Jacob Zuma's representative in Parliament Siphiwe Nyanda was reportedly also seen at the house at 11:00. He had since left.
Some of the journalists keeping watch outside had put up gazebos to shield themselves from the sun.
Respiratory infection
Mandela, 92, was admitted to Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg last Wednesday for treatment. His recovery from a respiratory infection continued on Monday, with doctors describing his night as restful and peaceful, the presidency said.
"President Mandela is said to be responding to medication and treatment. The close monitoring and 24-hour care from the team of specialists continues," Acting President Kgalema Motlanthe said in a statement.
He promised that the presidency would continue providing information on developments.
Motlanthe thanked everyone for their continued support of Madiba and added: "...[We] want to assure them that we are doing all we can to ensure that he recovers fully. We appreciate all the prayers and love shown to Madiba."
An information vacuum, reportedly due to a turf war between the foundation which promotes Mandela's life's work, and the government, was blamed for last week's speculation that his condition was worse than thought.
Motlanthe broke the silence at a press conference on Friday, as social network feeds ran comments on whether Mandela was dead or alive. At the same time, Mandela was taken home to recuperate.
- SAPA
