Johannesburg - President Jacob Zuma has cancelled his scheduled trip to Mozambique, the Presidency said on Wednesday night.
Zuma visited ailing Nelson Mandela in hospital around 10pm, and found him to be still in a critical condition, said spokesman Mac Maharaj.
“President Zuma has decided to cancel his visit to Maputo, Mozambique, where he was due to attend a Southern African Development Community summit on regional infrastructure investment.”
Mandela, 94, was admitted to Medi-Clinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria on June 8 for a recurring lung infection.
Meanwhile, Chief Mandla Mandela - Mandela’s grandson - has broken his silence on reports that he has resisted plans by relatives to move the remains of Mandela’s children to Qunu for reburial.
On Wednesday, Mandla, through his spokesman Freddy Pilusa, denied reports of tension between him and his aunt Makaziwe Mandela.
Mandla reportedly became angry when some relatives asked for the remains of his father Makgatho, aunt Makaziwe and uncle Thembekile to be exhumed from the Mvezo traditional area.
Makaziwe and several other family members want the remains re-interred to the family burial ground in Qunu - also the earmarked final resting place of Nelson Mandela.
Mandla said the trio had been buried in Mvezo for a while.
Pilusa said: “Chief Zwelivelile has no issues with any authorised person in the family repatriating any or all of the graves. Mvezo is the birthplace and the traditional home of the Mandelas, and thereby lies its historic and heritage significance.”
Pilusa said Mandla would not be drawn on reports that it was Mandela’s wish to be buried next to his children at a grave not far from the statesman’s home.
“At the moment, Chief Zwelivelile (Mandla) - like most in the family - hopes for his grandfather’s recovery, and remains grateful for those with similar wishes. On the issue of Tata’s burial, the chief will not comment at this stage,” he added.
Pilusa insisted the re-internment wasn’t a big issue for Mandla and accused the media of exaggerating the events that unfolded at a family meeting this week.
Sapa reports that schoolchildren sang and prayed for Mandela outside his home in Qunu on Wednesday.
The children, who are part of a programme run by the Nelson Mandela Leadership Institute, held a poster they had made for the former president.
“We always used to enjoy knowing he was in the house when we came past,” said Nokuzola Tatane, spokeswoman for the Nelson Mandela Museum in Qunu. “We enjoyed sharing this space with him in Qunu. We miss him and want him to come back.”
Tatane said the children were worried about Mandela and had wanted to come to the house to wish him well.
Qiniso van Damme, a facilitator for the programme, said the aim was to teach the children the values and ethics espoused by Mandela. “Our programme runs different electives to bring talents out of the children,” she said. “We try to teach values and ethics that mirror Nelson Mandela’s values.”
The Star