Mandela’s friend says “time to let him go”
Nelson Mandela, famous South African leader and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, was rushed to the hospital again this Saturday. Reports from the South African government say that after 3 days in a Pretoria hospital, former President Mandela is in a serious but stable condition.
After urging South Africans to pray for the anti-apartheid leader, the office of President Jacob Zuma said that his condition isn’t looking good. He is being treated for a recurring lung infection.
“His condition is unchanged,” the office of President Jacob Zuma said to the Detroit News.
In the same unhappy manner, the front page of South Africa’s Sunday Times read, “It’s time to let him go.”
The bold statement was quoted from Andrew Mlangeni, longtime friend of Mandela.
“Once the family releases him, the people of South Africa will follow. We will say thank you, God, you have given us this man, and we will release him too,” Mlangeni said.
After getting tuberculosis during his 27-year imprisonment, the 94-year-old has struggled with respiratory issues ever since. During a hospital stay that ended when he was released on April 6, Mandela had been diagnosed with pneumonia and had fluid drained from his chest.
His daughter, Zenani Dlamini, reportedly flew back to South Africa from Argentina, where she is the South African ambassador, to see her father in the hospital.
While no statements have been released from the family, presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj tells of the inspiring Mandela.
“He has taught us … that we enhance our own humanity when we serve and make a difference to other people’s lives. It’s easy to serve oneself, own interests, but serving the interests of others, making their lives better changes the quality of all humanity,” Maharaj said.
