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| Bedside vigil as Mandela's health fades | | | South Africa: South Africans have left dozens of hand-made messages for Nelson Mandela outside the Mediclinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria. Photo: Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla
Nelson Mandela's close family has gathered at his rural homestead to discuss the failing health of the South African anti-apartheid icon who was fighting for his life in hospital.
Mr Mandela spent a second night in critical condition, with his family, compatriots and well-wishers worldwide fearing the anti-apartheid hero is about to lose his final struggle.
Messages of support poured in for the Nobel Peace Prize winner, who spent 27 years behind bars for his struggle under white minority rule and went on to become South Africa's first black president.
"We must keep him in our prayers and leave the rest to the Almighty to decide on," Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe said.
Family members including one of Mr Mandela's daughters and at least two grandchildren were seen gathering on Tuesday for a meeting in the village of Qunu, where the charismatic former leader spent his childhood tending cattle and living in mud-walled huts.
The meeting was called "to discuss delicate matters", according to South Africa's SAPA news agency, amid speculation that the location of his possible gravesite was on the agenda. |
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