Johannesburg - The ANC does not know about ruling party officials reportedly being banned from visiting former president Nelson Mandela in hospital, a spokesman said on Monday.
“I'm not aware [of that],” African National Congress spokesman Keith Khoza said.
The Star reported that the Mandela family had taken charge of the 94-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner's hospital stay, banning everyone - including government leaders and senior party officials - from visiting him.
The media continued camping outside his house in Houghton, Johannesburg, and a Pretoria hospital on Monday morning. It has been more than two days since the last official update by the presidency was made public.
About 12 journalists and eight cameras were stationed across the road from Mandela's Houghton house.
There were still messages of support on stones surrounding plants outside Mandela's home, from the ailing icon's previous hospital stay earlier this year.
A tile with a picture of Mandela was nestled between the stones. Written on the tile was: “We promise to keep South Africa: your dream”, “let's keep our promise”, “Tata Madiba: Thanks to you we are proud to be South African”, and “we promise to live in peace and harmony”.
In Pretoria, numerous reporters and photographers were monitoring the two entrances to the hospital where he was believed to have been admitted.
Some passers-by enquired from the journalists how Mandela was doing. - Sapa