Nelson Mandela

AFTER two days of media frenzy and rumour-mongering over the state of Nelson Mandela’s health, the South African government broke its silence at lunchtime today to announce that, far from being at death’s door, South Africa’s first black president was “in good health”. There was “no need to panic”, the country’s deputy-president, Kgalema Motlanthe, said. The 92-year-old national icon was in “high spirits” following treatment for an acute pulmonary infection and has now been discharged from hospital.

Until the press conference at which Mr Motlanthe was speaking, nothing definite had been heard about Mr Mandela’s condition since a first report put out on January 26th by the Mandela Foundation, which deals with his public relations, announcing his admission to Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg for what were described as routine tests. Concern mounted when grim-looking political dignitaries and family members, including his second wife, Winnie Madikizela Mandela, started arriving at the hospital but refused to talk to the hordes of journalists gathered outside. Officials likewise refused to answer journalists’ calls.

There appeared to be a complete news blackout. Under those conditions, it was inevitable that rumours would spread. The situation was not helped by a statement from the president’s office, issued a full 24 hours after Mr Mandela’s hospitalisation, calling for calm and saying that President Jacob Zuma, in Switzerland for the World Economic Forum, was being "kept abreast of developments". That sounded ominous rather than reassuring. South Africans began to fear the worst as thousands of messages of sympathy started to flood in from around the world, including one from President Barack Obama and his wife.

Concern turned to alarm when the nation’s beloved liberation hero was kept for a second night in hospital with still no explanation as to what was going on. When journalists protested, they were castigated for behaving like vultures. Speculation over Mr Mandela’s health was "very un-African and very alien to the African culture”, Mr Zuma’s official spokesman said. But at today’s press conference, Mr Motlanthe admitted that "with the wisdom of hindsight, we could have handled this matter differently".

Mr Mandela is now back at his home in the affluent Johannesburg suburb of Houghton. The military surgeon-general, who is responsible for the health of all the country's presidents, past and present, said that Mr Mandela had surprised doctors daily with his powers of recovery. He had responded well to treatment and his condition was now "stable", though still subject to intense monitoring. "Medically," he said, "there is at the moment no need to panic."
 
Nic Dawes, editor of the Mail and Guardian, South Africa's leading political weekly, summed up the emotions of many of his compatriots when he wrote: "What South Africans feel for Madiba (Mr Mandela's clan name) is not simply affection or respect. Even love may not be a strong enough word. His presence is part of our national being. We worry that we may not be quite ourselves without him."