JOHANNESBURG — Former South African President Nelson Mandela remained in serious but stable condition during his fourth day in the hospital Tuesday for a recurring lung infection, while schoolchildren sang outside the 94-year-old icon's home, expressing hope the former president would recover.
A government statement said President Jacob Zuma was briefed by Mandela's doctors late Monday and is satisfied they are doing all they can to improve his health. The statement gave no additional details as to how Mandela is fairing other than to describe his condition as serious but stable.
Mandela, the leader of South Africa's anti-apartheid movement, spent 27 years in prison during white 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.
His admission to a hospital in Pretoria, the capital, is Mandela's fourth time being admitted to a hospital for treatment since December. His last discharge came April 6 after doctors diagnosed him with pneumonia and drained fluid from his lung area.
Two of Mandela's children visited the Johannesburg hospital he is believed to be staying in Tuesday. In what could be a sign of the seriousness of his condition, one of them was Zenani Mandela, South Africa's ambassador to Argentina, the South African Press Association reported.
