Mandela Has More Tests in Third Day in South Africa Hospital

Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first black president and a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, spent a third day in a Pretoria hospital undergoing more medical tests.

“President Nelson Mandela had a good night’s rest,” the Presidency said in an e-mailed statement today. “He is in good hands.”

Mandela, 94, was admitted to the hospital on Dec. 8 for tests for an undisclosed medical condition. President Jacob Zuma visited Mandela yesterday and found him in “good care,” according to a statement from his office yesterday.

“He is comfortable and there is no cause for alarm,” Mac Maharaj, Zuma’s spokesman, said in a phone interview. The government has declined to disclose details of the hospital where Mandela is receiving treatment to prevent a “buildup of crowds outside,” Maharaj said.

Mandela underwent exploratory surgery for an abdominal complaint in February and was hospitalized a year before that for an acute respiratory infection. After spending 27 years in prison for fighting against white minority rule, he helped negotiate a peaceful end to apartheid, taking office after the first all-race elections in 1994. He stepped down as president voluntarily in 1999.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jaco Visser in Johannesburg at avisser3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Viljoen at jviljoen@bloomberg.net

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South Africa's First Black President Nelson Mandela

Naashon Zalk/Bloomberg

South Africa's first black president Nelson Mandela was admitted to hospital on Dec. 8 for tests for an undisclosed medical condition.

South Africa's first black president Nelson Mandela was admitted to hospital on Dec. 8 for tests for an undisclosed medical condition. Photographer: Naashon Zalk/Bloomberg