NEWS --Mandela Admitted to Hospital Again for Lung Condition

South Africa's First Black Leader Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela is responding to treatment for a recurring lung illness, his second hospital visit this year after a check-up less than three weeks ago.
The nation’s first black leader, 94, was admitted before midnight local time, President Jacob Zuma said in a statement. Mandela’s health took a “downturn” yesterday and he was taken to the hospital to prevent the infection from spreading, Zuma’s spokesman, Mac Maharaj, said in an interview on Johannesburg- based broadcaster eNCA. Mandela remains under treatment and observation, Maharaj said in a separate statement.

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South Africa's first black leader Nelson Mandela was hospitalized from Dec. 8 to Dec. 26 to treat a lung infection and to have gallstones removed. Photographer: Naashon Zalk/Bloomberg

“We appeal to the people of South Africa and the world to pray for our beloved Madiba and his family,” Zuma said, referring to Mandela by his clan name. “We have full confidence in the medical team.”
The Nobel Peace Prize-winner was hospitalized from Dec. 8 to Dec. 26 to treat a lung infection and to have gallstones removed. He contracted tuberculosis while imprisoned on Robben Island during his 27-year incarceration for fighting all-white minority rule. Mandela led South Africa for five years after the African National Congress won the first all-race elections in 1994, ending apartheid rule.
He spent a night in a Pretoria hospital on March 9 for scheduled medical tests.
The ANC called on “all South Africans and the world to keep Nelson Mandela in their prayers,” it said in an e-mailed statement. “We are confident that the treatment will be successful.”