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| Nelson Mandela 'comfortable' in hospital, says South African president | Nelson Mandela 'comfortable' in hospital, says South African president |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Nelson Mandela is "comfortable and in good care", South Africa's president, Jacob Zuma, has said after visiting him in hospital. | |
| A statement from the presidency on Sunday offered no further details about why Mandela, 94, is receiving medical tests at a Pretoria hospital. | |
| South Africa's military has been in charge of medical care for the elderly leader since he developed a respiratory infection in 2011. | |
| Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison during the apartheid era, became South Africa's first black president in 1994 and served a five-year term. He later retired from public life to live in the remote village of Qunu in the Eastern Cape, and last made a public appearance when his country hosted the 2010 World Cup football tournament. | |
| Worshippers gathered at the Regina Mundi Catholic church in the Soweto area of Johannesburg to pray for Mandela on Sunday morning. The church was a centre of anti-apartheid protests and funerals. | Worshippers gathered at the Regina Mundi Catholic church in the Soweto area of Johannesburg to pray for Mandela on Sunday morning. The church was a centre of anti-apartheid protests and funerals. |
| "Yes, it really worries us because he is a great person," a churchgoer, Shainet Mnkomo, said as she left an early morning service. "He did so many things to the country. He's one of those persons who we remember most." | |
| Many of South Africa's 50 million people view Mandela, who led the African National Congress to power, as a father figure and a symbol of integrity and magnanimity amid the nation's increasingly messy politics. | Many of South Africa's 50 million people view Mandela, who led the African National Congress to power, as a father figure and a symbol of integrity and magnanimity amid the nation's increasingly messy politics. |
| Inside the church, a stained-glass window depicts Mandela, in a dark suit and blue tie, raising his hands to wave at a crowd. His image stands next to another portraying a man carrying the corpse of 13-year-old Hector Pieterson, who was gunned down by police in Soweto in 1976, as students protested peacefully against the white government. | |
| In February, Mandela spent a night in hospital for a minor diagnostic surgery to determine the cause of an abdominal complaint. In January 2011, Mandela was admitted to a Johannesburg hospital for what officials initially described as tests but what turned out to be an acute respiratory infection. He was discharged days later. | |
| Mandela contracted tuberculosis during his years in prison. He also had surgery for an enlarged prostate gland in 1985. | Mandela contracted tuberculosis during his years in prison. He also had surgery for an enlarged prostate gland in 1985. |
| Mandela's admittance to hospital has come days after the crash of a military aircraft flying on an unknown mission near his rural home town in which all 11 on board were killed. The plane was flying on Thursday to a military air base in Mthatha, which is about 17 miles (30km) north of Qunu. Military officials declined to say whether those who died had any part in caring for the former president. |