South Africans continue to pray for Mandela

  • 11 years ago
Dozens of people continued to arrive at the Pretoria Heart Hospital on Monday to wish former President Nelson Mandela well as he spends a fourth week being treated for a lung infection.

Well-wishers come from different walks of life, bringing flowers, cards, flags, balloons and messages for the ailing statesman.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) TAILOR, CYNTHIA MOKGAPE, SAYING:

"You know he is a father, he is our hero, I wish him all the best, I wish him more years to come even though I know he is a bit older but I wish him all the best."

On Sunday, U.S. President Barack Obama and his family paid tribute to Nelson Mandela by visiting the bleak former Robben Island prison near Cape Town.

The 94-year-old Mandela's struggle with a lung infection has been a sombre backdrop to Obama's eight-day Africa trip. The government says his condition is "critical but stable".