Madiba may be too frail to return to Qunu

WHILE there is speculation over former president Nelson Mandela’s return to his Qunu home, his grandson Mandla Mandela said he was more worried about his grandfather’s wellbeing.

Over the past two days there have been reports that the elderly, frail statesman would be flown to Qunu days after he was released from hospital after spending 95 days in intensive care.

“We are not concerned about where he should be but the most important thing is his health,” Mandla said.

“We cannot put pressure on his doctors to take him to other places; the only thing we should concentrate on is to pray for him to get well.

“The distance between Qunu and Johannesburg is strenuous for me as a young person – it is even worse for an elderly person who is also ill. We cannot put him through such strenuous conditions.”

Yesterday the Daily Dispatch learned that some Mandela family members from Qunu had travelled to Johannesburg to visit Madiba at his Houghton home.

Speaking to the Dispatch one of the family members, Lamla Jiyose, said: “It was our wish to visit him after he came out of hospital. As people who are always around his home in Qunu it is our responsibility to check on his health.

“We hope we will find him in a good state and that his health will improve so that he can start walking again. He is a beacon of hope to all of us.”

Jiyose could not say whether Mandela would be brought back to Qunu in the next few days. — abongilem@dispatch.co.za / lulamilef@dispatch.co.za