Mandela 'comfortable', still in hospital
2012-12-15 11:16
Pretoria - Former president Nelson Mandela was still
receiving treatment in a Pretoria hospital on Saturday morning, a week after
being admitted, the presidency said.
"The doctors reported that the former president was
comfortable and continues to receive treatment in hospital," spokesperson
Mac Maharaj said.
"There is no truth in the statement that he has been
discharged."
He was responding on a photograph caption in a newspaper
which said he was discharged.
Maharaj said doctors had not given any information about
when he might go home.
Lung infection
Mandela, 94, was flown to Pretoria from his home in Qunu, in
the Eastern Cape last Saturday.
The presidency said he was suffering from the recurrence of
a previous lung infection and was responding to treatment.
Mandela's hospital stay is his longest continuous period in
hospital since 2001, when he underwent seven weeks of radiotherapy after being
diagnosed with prostate cancer. He was 83 at the time.
In January 2011, Mandela was admitted to a Johannesburg
hospital for an acute respiratory infection. He had contracted tuberculosis
while in prison.
Eyewitness News reported on Thursday that Mandela was not
receiving treatment at 1 Military Hospital at the Thaba Tshwane Military Base
in Pretoria as had been widely reported after Defence Minister Nosiviwe
Mapisa-Nqakula's interview on Monday.
Mapisa-Nqakula spoke to reporters outside the hospital after
seemingly visiting Mandela there.
Since Friday morning, the number of journalists kept
increasing at Mediclinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria as details of the reported
new hospital filtered through.
The presidency said it had not been the government's
intention to mislead the public or the media.
Maharaj said he had only stated Mandela had been admitted to
a Pretoria hospital.
"It is not part of any strategy or tactic by government
to mislead the public. We have never had that intention. We know to keep to the
facts and we've been rigorous," he said in an interview on Talk Radio 702.
- SAPA
