President calls on country to pray for ailing Mandela

94-year-old remains in critical condition for the second straight day

east london, south africa » Nelson Mandela remained in critical condition for a second straight day, South African President Jacob Zuma saidMonday.

“All of us in the country should accept the fact that Madiba is now old,” Zuma told reporters in Johannesburg, referring to Mandela, 94, by his clan name. “As he ages, his health will . . . trouble him, and I think what we need to do as a country is to pray for him.”

The anti-apartheid icon has been hospitalized in the capital, Pretoria, for a recurring lung infection since June 8. Zuma provided few details Monday about Mandela’s condition, which dete- riorated to a critical state during the weekend, and doctors were not made available to discuss his health. Zuma described the former South African president as being “asleep” when he visited him Sunday evening.

Mandela’s hospitalization, Zuma said, is not expected to affect an official visit Friday by President Barack Obama, who this week embarks on his second and most substantial presidential trip to Africa. In addition to South Africa, Obama will stop in Senegal and Tanzania.

Mandela has been hospitalized four times since December.

Asomber mood pervaded the countryMonday. Both the ruling AfricanNational Congress party and its main rival, the Democratic Alliance party, issued statements asking South Africans to keep Mandela in their thoughts and prayers.

In an interviewwithCNN, Mandela’s daughter, Makaziwe Mandela, asked that the family’s privacy be respected.

“This is, in a sense, quality and sacred time for us, and Iwould expect theworld to really back off and leave us alone,” she said.

South Africa’s apartheid regime imprisoned Mandela for 27 years before releasing him in 1990. He contracted tuberculosis in the 1980s whileworking at the prison quarry onRobben Island, which is believed to be source of his current lung problems.

Mandela has not been seen in public since the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament, which was held in South Africa.

Ben Curtis, The Associated Press Former wifeWinnie Madikizela-Mandela waves as she leaves after visiting theMediclinic Heart Hospital where former South African President Nelson Mandela is being treated in Pretoria onMonday. South African President Jacob Zumba said a critically ill...