Former South African president,
Nelson Mandela, is still unable to
speak but uses facial expressions to
communicate, his ex-wife told a local
newspaper.
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela said the
95-year-old remained “quite ill” but
she dismissed speculation that he
was on a life support machine.
In September Mandela returned home
after nearly three months in hospital
with a recurring lung infection. The
government has said his condition is
critical and sometimes unstable. He
is no longer talking “because of all
the tubes that are in his mouth to
clear [fluid from] the lungs”, Ms
Madikizela-Mandela told South
Africa’s Sunday Independent
newspaper.
“He can’t actually articulate
anything. He communicates with the
face, you see. But the doctors have
told us they hope to recover his
voice.” “I have heard this nonsense
that he is on life support - he is not,”
she added. “It is difficult for him. He
remains very sensitive to any germs,
so he has to be kept literally sterile.
The bedroom there is like an ICU
[intensive care unit] ward.”
Mandela has been receiving intensive
care at his home in a suburb of
Johannesburg, which has been
specially adapted for his care. The
Nobel Peace Prize laureate is revered
around the world for leading the fight
against white minority rule and
preaching reconciliation with the
white community despite being
imprisoned for 27 years.
Correspondents said the presidency
has been keen to reassure not just the
Mandela family but the nation that he
is no more vulnerable at home than
in hospital. It has called for Mr
Mandela’s privacy and dignity to be
respected.
http://leadership.ng/news/181113/mandela-still-unable-speak