Former President Nelson Mandela is said to be on life support in the Pretoria Medi-Clinic Heart Hospital.
Five highly placed sources close to the family, with two amog them who recently visited former legendary President in hospital, have disclosed that South Africa’s first black leader’s health has deteriorated to the point where he is breathing with the assistance of a life support ventilator.
Also according to one more source, Mandela is suffering from kidney failure and is undergoing renal dialysis for three hours, every second day.
"He is on a ventilation life support and his kidney function is very low. He is critical, but has a entire team of doctors, from a cardiac specialist, pulmonary specialist, kidney specialist and a main consultant looking after him."
Some sources (names withheld) say that doctors have given the family the option to switch off the life support machines, although this could not be confirmed by the family or the presidency.
Speaking about Mandela's condition one of the sources who had visited Mandela said, "It was very bad. He is using life support to breathe. It will be completely up to the family what to do next." This was confirmed by another source with close ties to the family.
"As much as we all want him to live forever, the reality is that he has to leave us. It’s a difficult reality but we must prepare for the worse,” said the source.
Senior members of the Mandela family, including Mandela’s daughter Thanduxolo Mandela, grandsons Mandla Mandela and Ndaba Mandela and granddaughter Ndileka Mandela, among others, gathered in Mandela’s homestead in Qunu for a meeting.
Family elder Napilisi Mandela confirmed that they would discuss delicate matters pertaining to the anti-apartheid icon.
The family was reportedly joined by close family friends, the minister of co-operative governance and traditional affairs Lindiwe Sisulu and United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa.
American TV media reported yesterday that Zindzi Mandela had said her father "opened his eyes and gave me a smile", after she told him that US President Barack Obama was visiting the country this week.
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela had arrived at the hospital shortly after 12.30pm with her daughter Zindzi Mandela-Motlhajwa.
Asked for comment yesterday, Ndaba Mandela said he had nothing to say.
Yesterday president Jacob Zuma said that Mandela’s condition was unchanged. But the doctors continued “to do their best to ensure his recovery, well-being and comfort”.
Zuma appealed to the nation and the world to support the Mandela family and to grant them the necessary sensitivity and respect during this painful time.
“We must support him and support his family. We must demonstrate our love and appreciation for his leadership during the struggle for liberation and in our first few years of freedom and democracy by living out his legacy and promoting unity, non-racialism, non-sexism and prosperity in our country,” Zuma said.
The President also thanked the South African public for their ongoing support and understanding.
He said: "Former president Mandela will turn 95 on July 18. We must all be planning what to do next month in marking our 67 minutes of doing good for humanity, as called upon by Madiba to do so when he launched the International Mandela Day campaign.
Let us make it the biggest Mandela Day ever on July 18, focusing on doing good all over the country. People continued to flock to the the hospital last night."
It has been 18 days since Mandela was admitted to hospital.
While there was a glimmer of hope last week that Mandela would make a full recovery and Mandela was expected to be discharged soon, the tone around his hospitalisation has changed dramatically since Sunday.
All sources requested anonymity as they were not authorised to comment on Mandela’s health and did not want to be seen as disrespecting South Africa’s first family.
