Nelson Mandela admitted to the hospital

The presidency had to issue an assurance of his health to quell the rumours, while his Nelson Mandela Foundation, which guards the anti-apartheid struggle icon’s legacy, also denied them.

Mandela was released from 27 years in prison on February 11, 1990, and oversaw South Africa’s path to its first democratic vote in 1994 when he was elected its first black president after decades of white-minority rule.

He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and served one term before stepping down in 1999.JOHANNESBURG: Former South African leader Nelson Mandela, 93, was admitted to hospital on Saturday after doctors advised specialist medical attention for a long-standing abdominal complaint.

“We wish him a speedy recovery and assure him of the love and good wishes of all South Africans and people throughout the world,” the statement from the presidency said.

“We request that all respect the privacy of Madiba and that of his family during this period.”The name of the hospital to which he has been admitted was not released.

Mandela returned to his Johannesburg home last month from his rural home village in the Eastern Cape, some 800 kilometres from Johannesburg, where he moved after his respiratory infection scare.