Several hours before President Jacob Zuma announced the death of Africa’s greatest son, Nelson Mandela, friends and relatives of the 95-year old had gathered at his Johannesburg home. The small crowd gathered at the bedside, which later turned to be “his death bed.”
Two of Mandela’s grand-daughters and a close family friend Bantu Holomisa were among those seen entering the house, which was flanked by more than a dozen cars ferrying visitors and military personnel.
A picture released by South African broadcaster SABC shows South African peace icon Nelson Mandela sitting at his home in Johannesburg on April 29, 2013. Nelson Mandela was critically ill in hospital on June 24, 2013 after his condition suddenly deteriorated, leaving South Africans anxiously awaiting the latest news of their revered anti-apartheid icon.
A picture released by South African broadcaster SABC shows South African peace icon Nelson Mandela sitting at his home in Johannesburg on April 29, 2013. Nelson Mandela was critically ill in hospital on June 24, 2013 after his condition suddenly deteriorated, leaving South Africans anxiously awaiting the latest news of their revered anti-apartheid icon.
The reason for the large-than-usual gathering was not made public, but it came shortly after Mandela’s daughter Makaziwe described her father as fighting from his “deathbed,” but still being “very strong” and “very courageous.”
“Even when there are moments when you can see he’s struggling, but the fighting spirit is still there with him,” she said.
Mandela had been receiving round the clock intensive care from military and other doctors since September, when he was discharged from a nearly three month hospital stay for a lung infection.
Grandson Ndaba recently told a local broadcaster that Mandela was “not doing well at home in bed.” At exactly 8.50 p.m. local time, President Zuma announce to South Africans and the world that the man popularly called Madiba had passed on.
Although increasingly frail, Mandela had been in an out of the hospital over the past five years, he was last rushed to hospital on June 8 this year.
He was initially treated for a lung infection, but with three weeks his condition, it was announced, had turned ‘critical’.
The South African government has never disclosed the full extent of his illness, but reputable news sources revealed that his liver and kidneys were functioning at just 50 percent.
South African media reported that he was on ventilation and undergoing regular renal dialysis.
In December 2012 Mandela spent almost three weeks in hospital to undergo treatment for a lung infection and gallstones. This was his longest period in hospital since leaving prison in 1990.
In March and April 2013, Madiba was hospitalised again – this time for pneumonia. Pneumonia is a lung infection that affects one or both of the lungs and is caused by bacteria or viruses. While it is a disease that can affect people of all ages, it is more common among the elderly.
On 8 June 2013, Mandela was hospitalised at Pretoria’s Mediclinic Heart Hospital for a “recurring lung infection”. Government officials described Mandela’s condition as “serious but stable” and said he was able to breathe on his own. At the time, they did not confirm whether it was pneumonia. His condition, however, became critical and there were reports that he was breathing with the assistance of a life support ventilator
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