‘Exhausted’ president admitted to Pretoria hospital

PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma was admitted to a Pretoria hospital yesterday, a day after he was advised to withdraw from the ANC national executive committee lekgotla.

Presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said Zuma was admitted yesterday morning, but “doctors were satisfied with his condition”.

The Sunday Times reported in February that Zuma’s family were concerned about his health, and there was talk of advising him to serve only two years of his second term as president. It was also reported that Zuma spent three hours receiving treatment at Durban’s Life Entabeni Hospital in January this year for what was described as an “unscheduled routine check-up”.

Although Maharaj played down Zuma’s latest admission to hospital, a Union Buildings insider said Presidency staff shared the family’s concerns about his health.

“He’s been working 20 hours a day . . . He has not had a good rest for the past five months. When the Pres- idency staff blocks people from meeting him late at night, he allows them into his door.

“If you look at his programme since the start of the election campaign, no one has worked as hard.”

He spent a short time at the threeday ANC lekgotla on Friday before being sent home by party leaders. The lekgotla ended yesterday.

The party said in a statement he had only delivered his opening remarks at the meeting and did not stay for the rest of the proceedings.

On the same day, the president also cancelled his scheduled appearance at a National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union special congress in Boksburg. Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa attended the congress in his place.

Although Maharaj said Zuma would attend Friday’s swearing-in of Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Zanele Magwaza-Msibi, Ramaphosa ended up officiating at the event.

ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe said the ANC released Zuma from its lekgotla after noticing he was exhausted. “We made that observation ourselves and said to him: ‘Listen, go and relax. You are having a cabinet lekgotla next week. Go to that lekgotla and go to the state of the nation [address] more relaxed.’ ”

He said Zuma was not unique because all ANC officials, including him, were given time off to relax.

“I must say these elections were quite punishing. I was told to go and sleep for nine days. I slept for nine days . . . because [we] went through a punishing campaign.”