admin
Johannesburg — Messages of support for ailing former president Nelson Mandela continue to pour in at the Medi-Clinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria, where he is spending his 25th day yesterday. It was quiet outside the hospital where the 94-year-old anti-apartheid icon remained in a critical condition.
Three street cleaners picked up litter along Celliers Street and journalists were setting up their cameras. Three candles left overnight continued to burn near the wall where well-wishing messages had been left.
Passers-by took pictures of the wall with their cellphones and others posed with Madiba’s portrait. “The messages are touching,” remarked Obed Metsi, after reading some of them.
“So many messages from little kids — it is moving,” he said with tears forming in his eyes, before he left.
In their message on a giant poster, Readetswe Mmekwa and Linda Motlaletoo appealed to God to heal Madiba.
“We are here to pray and remind the Lord that tata Mandela has served him faithfully and loyally. What he tried to do was what He wanted him to do. Please Lord grant him your mercy.”
Another message scribbled on Venezuela’s national flag read: “Venezuela loves you Madiba.”
The people of South Sudan also left a message: “We pray for a hero, our man Madiba to be out of this sickness with all the power from Allah the Almighty.”
A message from Nigerian students read: “Get well soon, we love you.”
Mandela was admitted to hospital on 8 June with a recurring lung infection.
On Monday, the presidency said his condition was still critical, but stable. “We remind all South Africans to begin planning for Madiba’s birthday on 18 July,” President Jacob Zuma said.
“We must all be able to do something good for humanity on this day, in tribute to our former president.”
Zuma thanked everyone who had kept Mandela and his family in their thoughts and prayers.
In a related incident, South Africa and France are the only countries whose media coverage of ailing former president Nelson Mandela focused on his legacy rather than his health, according to a media research company.
The tone generated by increased coverage of the critically ill anti-apartheid icon’s health had become negative, except in South Africa and France, Media Tenor SA found.
“Against the background of an ailing Nelson Mandela, very few countries are trying to steer away from the sombre tone by highlighting the legacy that he is likely to leave. “However, his media tone becomes more negative the more critical his health is getting,” senior researcher Stephano Radaelli said yesterday.
The media tracking company analysed 1 213 reports on 31 global TV news channels across 12 countries.
In South Africa, Afrikaans, isiZulu, and isiXhosa news bulletins held a positive tone.
“In order to maintain positivity for the ailing former president, TV news broadcasts focused on positive personal life accomplishments and leadership qualities.”
In terms of foreign news coverage, UK-based ITV and US-based CBS were “most concerned” about Mandela’s health from April to June this year. However, stations in the two countries in general were not contributing to a positive image of Madiba.
“Should the media tone remain at such dire levels, this could potentially have an impact on Mandela’s popularity ratings in opinion polling in months to come,” Radaelli said.
Coverage on Madiba spiked last month, compared to the same period in previous years.
“Media coverage for Nelson Mandela dissipated after his official retirement from the public arena in June 2004, and only remained topical around his birthday in July of each year. Recent health concerns led to a shift in media interest and tone for the former president,” Radaelli said.
From January 2012 to March this year, television coverage on Madiba had seen slight increases. But, from March to June this year, South African media coverage grew, along with interest from broadcasters in other parts of the world.
After South Africa, interest grew in the UK, France, Canada, and the US. “After re-admittance to hospital in April, almost all TV news have increased their share of coverage on Nelson Mandela during the past three months compared to the coverage they offered him 15 months prior to that,” Radaelli concluded.
Mandela spent his 25th day at the Medi-Clinic Heart hospital in Pretoria yesterday.
Large contingents of local and foreign journalists remain camped outside the hospital.
Meanwhile, The Eastern Cape High Court yesterday ordered the return of the remains of three of Nelson Mandela’s children to his ancestral village, following a bitter family feud linked to the eventual burial site of the ailing former president.
A judge in the southern city of Mthatha ordered Mandela’s eldest grandson Mandla to transfer the remains by 15:00 today.
Mandla allegedly moved the graves without the rest of the family’s consent in 2011. — AFP
Online Reporter