Radebe wishes Mandela a speedy recovery

Justice Minister Jeff Radebe wished ailing former president Nelson Mandela a speedy recovery on Sunday.

   

Before addressing journalists on government’s fight against crime, Radebe extended his well-wishes.

   

"I would want to join many South Africans who are wishing our icon, [former] president Mandela all the best and [for him] to recover soon from the illness, as we all know he is in hospital since yesterday [Saturday],” Radebe told reporters in Pretoria.

   

Mandela spent Saturday night in hospital in a "serious but stable" condition with a renewed lung infection.

   

Mandela, who turns 95 next month, was taken to a Pretoria hospital in the early hours of Saturday for his fourth hospital stay in seven months.

   

"The truth of the matter is a simple one. Madiba is a fighter and at his age as long as he is fighting, he'll be fine," presidency spokesman Mac Maharaj told Agence France Presse, using Mandela's clan name.

   

Mandela's wife Graca Machel was at his bedside in hospital after calling off a trip to London.

   

-Sapa