South Africans sing, pray for Mandela
Children and their families stand outside the Mediclinic Heart Hospital where former South African President Nelson Mandela is being treated in Pretoria, South Africa Wednesday, June 26, 2013. South Africa’s president Jacob Zuma on Tuesday urged his compatriots to show their appreciation for Nelson Mandela, who is in critical condition in a hospital, by marking his 95th birthday next month with acts of goodness that honor the legacy of the anti-apartheid leader. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
JOHANNESBURG — Members of a South African choir have prayed and sung outside a hospital where Nelson Mandela, the country’s former president, is reported to be in critical condition.
In addition to the choir from the Salvation Army, other people arrived Thursday to deliver flowers and messages of support for 94-year-old Mandela at the hospital in Pretoria, the South African capital.
Members of the youth league of the country’s ruling party, the African National Congress, were planning prayer meetings Thursday to honor the anti-apartheid leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
President Jacob Zuma canceled a trip to Mozambique on Thursday in an indication of heightened concern about Mandela, whose health deteriorated last weekend.
