Are these the last days of Nelson Mandela? Say a prayer for him today

By Andres R. Martinez - 2013-06-25T08:33:50Z

Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first black president, remained in a critical condition in a Pretoria hospital as a local newspaper reported family members and advisers planned to meet in his ancestral home.
His daughter, Makaziwe, called a meeting to discuss sensitive matters today in Qunu, Eastern Cape, the Johannesburg-based Sowetan reported, citing people it didn’t identify.
Mandela’s health deteriorated this weekend after spending more than two weeks in the hospital receiving treatment for a recurring lung infection. Doctors are doing everything for Mandela, 94, as his condition was downgraded to “critical,” President Jacob Zuma told reporters yesterday in Johannesburg.
The Nobel Peace prize winner was admitted to the intensive care unit on June 8, his fourth time in a hospital since December. Mandela became the nation’s first-black president in 1994 after spending 27 years in jail for fighting white minority rule. Most of his imprisonment was spent on Robben Island where he contracted tuberculosis. Mandela stepped down in 1999 after a five-year term as president.