South Africa’s president says Nelson Mandela remains in hospital, is critical but stable

JOHANNESBURG – The office of South Africa’s president says Nelson Mandela remains hospitalized in a critical but stable condition.

The statement from the office of President Jacob Zuma followed reports that Mandela had been released from the hospital. The update on the 95-year-old anti-apartheid hero’s condition is unchanged from last week, when Zuma said Mandela showed “great resilience” although at times he was unstable.

Mandela was admitted to a Pretoria hospital on June 8 with what officials said was a recurring lung infection.

Mandela spent 27 years as a prisoner under apartheid and then emerged to negotiate an end to white minority rule before becoming president in the country’s first all-race elections in 1994.