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Nelson Mandela Taken To Hospital With Stomach Complaint

Huffington Post UK  
First Posted: 25/02/2012 09:20 Updated: 25/02/2012 17:03

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Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela has been taken to hospital

Former South African President Nelson Mandela was hospitalised with an abdominal complaint but is "not in danger" according to officials.

A statement released by current president, Jacob Zuma, said that Mandela had undergone a "diagnostic procedure" but was expected to be out of hospital in a few days.

The statement said: “Madiba [Mandela] is fine and fully conscious and the doctors are satisfied with his condition, which they say is consistent with his age.

"He was in good health before admission in hospital but doctors felt the complaint needed a thorough investigation. He underwent a diagnostic procedure as part of his ongoing medical management.

"We are happy that he is not in any danger and thank the doctors for their hard work and professionalism."

"He is receiving good medical care and is expected to be discharged from hospital either tomorrow or Monday," President Zuma said.

The Former South African President is 93 years old and has been suffering from ill health in recent years.

Zuma also requested Mandela's privacy be respected.

The African National Congress has said "not to panic" and that Mandela's admission into hospital was planned.

Although it is not known what hospital the former president is in, officials at the One Military hospital in Pretoria have said that Mandela is not being treated there, reports South African newspaper Times Live.

Sympathy has been pouring in on Twitter for the Nobel Peace Prize winner. Among the well-wishers, Peter Hain, Labour MP, and anti-apartheid campaigner tweeted a message of support for Mandela.


Peter Hain
Solidarity with Nelson Mandela just admitted to hospital we are all with you

When the former South African president was hospitalised last year, suffering an acute respiratory infection, rumours about the state of Mandela's frail health exploded all over social networks.

The 93-year-old president makes few public appearances anymore. He was last seen in public at the football World Cup final hosted by South Africa in July 2010.

Mandela is considered a national hero for his fight against apartheid, which saw him jailed for 27 years. After his release in 1990 he became South Africa's first black president in 1994.

Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize alongside Frederik Willem de Klerk in 1993 for their work "for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa."

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South African ANC leader Nelson Mandela at the law office he opened with his colleague, Oliver Tambo, unseen, in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1952.
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majdf18148
I have nothing to declare but my curiosity
248 Fans
10:11 AM on 02/26/2012
Some people describe him as a former terrorist. I am not sure that label fits well to a man fighting the abberation known once as apartheid. He fought injustice, he fought for equality in his own motherland, he fought white supremecy and the savagery of the colonial Boer! He paid the price for his bravery with almost three decades incarceration in a cell on Robbins Island where his wisdom and understanding made even his jailors admire him. On his release, not for him the path of bitterness and revenge, he sought only peace and reconciliation. Nelson Mandela is no saint and would not wish to be described as such but he is certainly one of the wisest , most revered and peace loving icons of the 20th century. I admire him completely and wish him every good fortune and happiness in his remaining years.
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katertaif
My wife thinks I have one fault. Everything I do!
527 Fans
10:09 AM on 02/26/2012
Willem de Klerk, did as much to dismantle apartheid as Mandela, and hardly gets a mention. What has Mandela actually done since de Klerk had him released? In what way have the ordinary people of S. Africa benefitted? S. Africa is now the crime capital of the world, and has ben for some time. Is this the end product?
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majdf18148
I have nothing to declare but my curiosity
248 Fans
10:30 AM on 02/26/2012
I don't disagree that de Klerk did much to unravel the noose of apartheid that he once led and presided over.He did so as he saw the writing on the wall and the unstoppable emergent wave of support for change in SA. Mandela, along with Desmond Tutu, was instrumental in the transition of SA from a white supremist led enclave to a democratically run state. It wasn't all peaches and cream, mistakes were made and still are being made, but SA avoided the witch hunt of the whites that went on in Zimbabwe following their independence and transition to majority rule. SA didn't descend into the ruinous chaos that Zimbabwe did, it didn't seek divine retribution on its erstwhile oppressors. Much of that was Mandela's doing as he preached peace and reconciliation. He also became the voice of reason in much of Africa and brokered several peace deals in other african countries.
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katertaif
My wife thinks I have one fault. Everything I do!
527 Fans
12:04 PM on 02/26/2012
Much of what you say is true, in that I agree Mandela preached reconciliation with the whites. That was pragmatism not saintliness. He knew the whites made much of the wealth. Having said that, the lot of the average black African is not a great deal better that is was, and should be in the post apartheid years. I saw a documentary on Soweto (South Western Township) a few months ago, and the scale of violence and murder was far greater than under de Klerk's government. Of course Aparheid had to go, it was degrading, and no sensible person would argue that. Once again though we see quotas, where just as here Black Africans were preferred for jobs, not because they were necessarily the best person for the job, although some undoubtedly were, but because ethey were black or knew someone. This sort of thing is counter productive, and Mandela encouraged that. You also have to remember that S. Africa has enormous mineral wealth in terms of coal, gold, and diamonds, copper etc. etc. that alone would stop it desecending into the chaos of what is now Zimbabwe. The President of that unfortunate country is as mad as they come, and we put him there.
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johnny a
10 Fans
09:26 AM on 02/26/2012
was he not a terrorist years ago ?
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thereiver
49 Fans
12:52 PM on 02/26/2012
yes he was he formed and lead the military section of the ANC he organised bomb attacks on buildings and the murder of political opponents.
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indiasign
30 Fans
03:14 PM on 02/26/2012
In much the same way as Gerry Adams and Martin McGuiness in Northern Ireland
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Sofia Champion
The future is now.
123 Fans
04:29 AM on 02/26/2012
I really can't help but worry -- when you're as aged as Mandela, it doesn't take a serious illness to kill you. My grandmother recently died of mild pneumonia.

I have admired Nelson since I was a small child. He's one of those people who you think is going to live forever. Such an important figure in recent world history that you can't imagine him going.
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vividrick
I came, I saw...I had a cup of tea!
493 Fans
01:13 AM on 02/26/2012
Get well soon, great man! Ignore the hostility on here.
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Bobo Macoute
178 Fans
11:36 PM on 02/25/2012
Seems like a nice enough guy. Chose wife and friends poorly though. get we'll Nelson.

Winnie and Kaddaffi were Number 1's.
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Lilybelle
I read, therefore I think, therefore I am
287 Fans
10:49 PM on 02/25/2012
Best wishes for a very speedy recovery.
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Gemmarella Leanne Goode
28 Fans
06:55 PM on 02/25/2012
Get well soon Mr Mandela. God bless. x
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s64645
1 Fans
06:30 PM on 02/25/2012
Get well soon my hero.
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s64645
1 Fans
12:45 AM on 02/27/2012
I worship any devil that has 100% approval of his people for freedom from the real devil
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Arkleson
100 Fans
06:25 PM on 02/25/2012
I'm not nervously waiting. He's in his 90s. It may not be his fault, but there are people in South Africa dying at a very young age due to the changes that have happened in that country over the last two decades - he's fortunate to have lived as long as he has in comparison.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
OH canada
199 Fans
 
04:02 PM on 02/25/2012
Fantastic person and a true champion of equality. be well!!
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ihatefrogs
14 Fans
03:55 PM on 02/26/2012
ya bell end
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