Prayers have been said in churches across the country for Mr Mandela, who is being treated for a lung infection. Mandela, 94, was taken to hospital early on Saturday, the third time this year he has been admitted. The presidency said he had been ill for some days at his Johannesburg home, with a recurrence of his long-standing lung problems.
He was admitted to hospital after his condition worsened at 01:30 on Saturday (23:30 GMT Friday). Meanwhile, Mandela has became the latest victim of a celebrity death prank on Twitter after a fake Piers Morgan account tweeted that Mandela had died earlier yesterday afternoon.
The fake account with just over 3 000 followers sent this tweet to the Twitterverse: “Breaking news: Nelson Mandela’s spokesman has confirmed the tragic news that the former leader died earlier this afternoon in his sleep.” At the time of this article, the tweet was retweeted 1 400 times. Peculiarly, most of the posts following the fake “breaking news” announcement via Twitter came from Spain.
It was not long before the social media network was awash with messages for Mandela. Several Spanish Twitter users, including eight-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal, flooded their streams with messages that the apartheid hero had passed on in his sleep and the world had lost a very important person. Translation: Today we lost one of the most important and relevant to our world.
Rest in peace #NelsonMandela The rumour gained further traction after the tennis star tweeted this to over four million of his followers. But it wasn’t long before the actual Piers Morgan acquired knowledge of the hoax and reported the fake account.
The South African government said in a statement: “President Jacob Zuma reiterates his call for South Africa to pray for Madiba and the family during this time.” Madiba is Mandela’s clan name.
In releasing the latest update, presidency spokesman Mac Maharaj also denied that visitors were being blocked from seeing Mandela. He said: “The reality is that the normal procedures when a patient is under intensive care are applying from the medical side. “Therefore there are limitations on visitors and, you know, that when a person is in intensive care the doctors only allow some very close people to be there – it is not the way it is being presented in the media.” The BBC’s reporter in Pretoria says there is a quiet hope that the man who led the fight against apartheid may regain his strength once again.
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