Deutsche Welle, 29 June 2013
US President Barack Obama has arrived in South Africa on the second leg of his African tour. His visit comes as the country’s former leader, Nelson Mandela, remains in critical health despite "improvements."
US President Barack Obama has arrived in South Africa on the second leg of his African tour. His visit comes as the country’s former leader, Nelson Mandela, remains in critical health despite "improvements."
President
Obama touched down in South Africa Friday evening from Senegal, where he
started his three-country tour in Africa.
On
Saturday, Obama is scheduled to meet South African President Jacob Zuma, which
is to be followed by a joint press conference.
The visit
comes as South Africa's former president and anti-apartheid hero, Nelson
Mandela, is gravely ill in hospital.
Speaking to
the press aboard Air Force One, Obama said it was uncertain whether he would
have an opportunity to see Mandela.
"I
don't need a photo-op, and the last thing I want to do is to be in any way
obtrusive at a time when the family is concerned about Nelson Mandela's
condition," he said.
While in
Senegal, Obama described Mandela as a "personal hero."
"I
think he is a hero for the world, and if and when he passes from this place,
one thing I think we all know is that his legacy is one that will linger on
throughout the ages," he said.
Following
his visit to South Africa, Obama is scheduled to go to Tanzania.
All eyes on
Mandela's health
On Friday,
Mandela's ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela said his health was showing signs
of "great" improvement.
"From
what he was a few days ago, there is great improvement, but clinically he is
still unwell," she said.
She also
called on the international media not to "get carried away" in
reporting and asked the press to "understand the sensitivities and the
feeling of the family."
Jacob
Zuma's office announced in a statement Thursday that the president had received
encouraging news from Mandela's medical team. The announcement came after Zuma
canceled a planned international trip in order to visit Mandela for the second
day running.
"I
canceled my visit to Mozambique today so that I can see him and confer with the
doctors," Zuma said. "He is much better today than he was when I saw
him last night."
Mandela has
been hospitalized for more than two weeks after being admitted for a lung infection.
During his 27-year imprisonment under the postcolonial apartheid regime,
Mandela developed tuberculosis, leading to permanent lung damage.
hc/kms (Reuters, AFP, AP)
 |
Obama met
Mandela in 2005, when
he was a US senator
|
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