Mandela remains in hospital; president calls situation ‘very serious’

JOHANNESBURG – Former South African president Nelson Mandela remains in the hospital for a fifth day.

The 94-year-old icon was hospitalized Saturday for a recurring lung infection.

Two of Mandela’s daughters and his former wife visited the hospital in the capital Pretoria where Mandela is staying.

President Jacob Zuma called Mandela’s situation “very serious” but said he has stabilized.

Mandela, the leader of South Africa’s anti-apartheid movement, spent 27 years in prison during white racist rule.

He was freed in 1990, and then embarked on peacemaking efforts during the tense transition that saw the demise of the apartheid system and his own election as South Africa’s first black president in 1994.

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