South Africans needed to accept that former president Nelson Mandela was no longer young and would need medical attention from time to time, President Zuma said on Thursday.
“we need to accpt the reality that President Mandela, who is loved by all of us, young and old, men and women, black and white, is not young anymore.
“He will, from time to time, visit medical facilities for check-ups, which is normal for a person of his age.
“We should allow him to do so with dignity, and give the family and the medical team the space to look after him, on our behalf, in privacy.
“We owe him that much given his love of this country and its people, and the contribution he has made to South Africa, Africa and the world,” Zuma said.
He was delivering his third State of the Nation address at a joint sitting of Parliament.
Zuma thanked the Mandela family, the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the medical team caring for him for “the sterling work that they are doing, in caring for a global icon, that we are so proud to call our own”.
“We want to assure the nation that Mandela is receiving very good medical care, and is comfortable,” Zuma said.
Mandela’s ex-wife, ANC MP Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, sat with her eyes cast down as Zuma spoke. The elder statesman’s grandson, Mandla Mandela, also an ANC MP, had earlier declined to respond to questions about Mandela’s health.
Mandela, who is 92, sparked alarm when he was admitted to Milpark Hospital in Pretoria on January 26 for what the Nelson Mandela Foundation called routine tests, but which was later confirmed as treatment for an acute respiratory infection.
Journalists and cameramen – both local and international – camped at the hospital for the two and half days he remained in hospital before being discharged to return his Houghton, Johannesburg, home.