Former South African president Nelson Mandela is recovering from a collapsed lung and could be released from hospital as early as tomorrow, a source close to Mandela told today.
The 92-year-old anti-apartheid icon was admitted to a Johannesburg hospital yesterday for what his foundation described as routine tests.
"Mandela was treated by military doctors and should be discharged tomorrow," the source said, asking not to be named.
President Jacob Zuma and the ruling African National Congress appealed for calm today after the hospitalisation set off speculation in local media about Mandela's health.
"President Mandela is comfortable and is well looked after by a good team of medical specialists," Mr Zuma said in a statement. The ANC said there was no cause for alarm.
"He is a 92-year-old and will have ailments associated with his age, and the fact that he stayed the night should not suggest the worst," ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu said.
Mandela has not been seen in public since the soccer World Cup final in July last year.
Several members of Mandela's family, including his wife Graca Machel, visited the hospital after his admission, witnesses said.
Police were called in to control traffic at the Milpark Hospital in a leafy Johannesburg suburb as scores of journalists, photographers and television crews converged on it.
There has been no official word from the hospital, government or Mandela's foundation on the nature of his illness.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation declined to comment on his health today but said in an earlier statement: "He is in no danger and is in good spirits."
Mandela retired from public life in June 2004 before his 86th birthday, telling his compatriots: "Don't call me, I'll call you."
Since then he has rarely appeared in public and when he did, he appeared increasingly frail. In addition to the World Cup, Mandela appeared at a couple of ANC rallies before general elections in 2009.
Mandela was treated in the 1980s for tuberculosis and later had an operation to repair damage to his eyes. In 2001 he had treatment for prostate cancer.
South African Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu said this week he had met Mandela last week. "He was all right, I mean, he's 92, you know. And he's frail."
Tutu told reporters in Bloemfontein today: "What more do we want from him? We want him to remain forever, but you know... anything can happen," the Sapa news agency reported.
Mandela - known by his clan name of Madiba in South Africa - has been on holiday with his wife, local media reported.
Reuters