Mandela remains in hospital, condition unchanged

JOHANNESBURG — Nelson Mandela remains hospitalized in a critical but stable condition, the office of South Africa's president said Saturday.

The statement from the office of President Jacob Zuma denied reports that Mandela had been released from the hospital.

The update on the 95-year-old anti-apartheid hero's condition is unchanged from last week, when Zuma said Mandela showed "great resilience."

"Madiba is still in hospital in Pretoria, and remains in a critical but stable condition," the statement said, referring to Mandela by his clan name. "At times his condition becomes unstable, but he responds to medical interventions."

Mandela was admitted to a Pretoria hospital on June 8 with what officials said was a recurring lung infection.

Mandela remains very fragile, and the few details released about his condition are tightly controlled by his family and Zuma's office. Zuma last week urged South Africans to pray for Mandela and to keep him in their thoughts at all times.

Mandela spent 27 years as a prisoner under apartheid and then emerged to negotiate an end to white minority rule before becoming president in the country's first all-race elections in 1994.