Mandela remains stable but in critical condition –South Africa government

The South African Government said on Monday that Nelson
Mandelaremained in a stable but critical condition more than two
months after doctors treated him for lung infection.
The former president was still quite ill and unable to speak because
of tubes in his mouth to clear fluid from his lungs.
The anti-apartheid leader spent 87 days in a Pretoria hospital before
returning to his Johannesburgfamily home in September.
Winnie Mandela, his ex-wife, said that he was receiving round the
clock treatment from 22 doctors and used facial gestures to
communicate.
The 95-year-old made his last public appearance waving to fans from
the back of a golf cart before the Soccer World Cup final in
Johannesburg in 2010.
In April, state broadcaster aired a clip of the thin and frail
statesman being visited by President Jacob Zuma and top officials from
the African National Congress.
Mr. Mandela was elected South Africa's first black president in
multi-racial elections in 1994 that ended white minority rule.
His imprisonment included 18 years on the notorious Robben Island
penal colony with other prisoners, where he first suffered the lung
infections that were to afflict him for years.
According to the statement issued by the government, the health of the
former president remains much the same, which is stable but critical,
although he continued to respond to treatment.
(Reuters/ NAN)