Mandela hospitalized; in 'serious' condition

JOHANNESBURG -- South Africans said Saturday their thoughts were with former President Nelson Mandela, who was in "serious but stable" condition after being taken to a hospital to be treated for a recurring lung infection.

Mandela, 94, was treated in a hospital several times in recent months, with the last discharge coming on April 6 after doctors diagnosed him with pneumonia and drained fluid from his lung area. He has been particularly vulnerable to respiratory problems since contracting tuberculosis during his 27-year imprisonment under apartheid.

A small girl and her father stood outside Mandela's Johannesburg home with a stone on which was written a get-well message for Mandela, who helped end white racist rule and became the country's first black president in all-race elections in 1994. A young boy brought a bouquet of flowers that he handed over to guards at the house.

Elsewhere in the city, some worshipers prayed for Mandela during an outdoor gathering.

"If the time comes, we wish for him a good way to go," said Noel Ngwenya, a security officer who was in the congregation.

"During the past few days, former President Nelson Mandela has had a recurrence of lung infection," said a statement from the office of President Jacob Zuma. "This morning at about 1:30 a.m., his condition deteriorated and he was transferred to a Pretoria hospital."

Mandela's wife, humanitarian activist Graca Machel, canceled her attendance at a London meeting on Thursday, and had accompanied Mandela to the hospital yesterday morning, the South African Press Association reported.