Mandela back in hospital with lung infection

It urges people to pray for the anti-apartheid hero. The 94-year-old was hospitalised ‘‘due to the recurrence of his lung infection'' just before midnight on Wednesday, President Jacob Zuma's office said in a statement.

It is the second time this month that the Nobel peace laureate has spent the night in hospital and follows a nearly three-week stay in December for the lung infection and for surgery to extract gallstones.

Earlier this month, he spent a night in hospital for a ‘‘scheduled medical checkup''. ‘‘Doctors are attending to him, ensuring that he has the best possible expert medical treatment and comfort,'' said the presidency.

Zuma wished ‘‘Madiba'', as South Africa's first black president is fondly known at home, a quick recovery. ‘‘We appeal to the people of South Africa and the world to pray for our beloved Madiba and his family and to keep them in their thoughts,'' he said.

‘‘We have full confidence in the medical team and know that they will do everything possible to ensure recovery.''

Revered at home and abroad, Mandela has grown increasingly frail away from the public eye with several recent health scares.

Did you know?
The last time Nelson Mandela has appeared in public was South Africa's Football World Cup final in 2010u00a0u00a0