Johannesburg \u2014 Former president Nelson Mandela was admitted to a Pretoria hospital for medical tests on Saturday, just short of a year since his last known hospital visit.<\/p>\n
“President Jacob Zuma wishes to advise that former President Nelson Mandela has today, 8 December 2012, been admitted in hospital in Pretoria to undergo tests,” said spokesman Mac Maharaj in a statement on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n
The hospital was not named.<\/p>\n
Maharaj insisted that there was no cause for concern.<\/p>\n
“As said before, former President Mandela will receive medical attention from time to time which is consistent with his age.”<\/p>\n
Mandela was admitted to hospital in February this year for a diagnostic procedure, which Lindiwe Sisulu, who was defence minister at the time, later said was \u0093an investigative laparoscopy\u0094.<\/p>\n
“President Zuma assures all that Madiba is doing well and there is no cause for alarm,” Maharaj said.<\/p>\n
Zuma said: “We wish Madiba all the best. The medical team is assured of our support as they look after and ensure the comfort of our beloved founding President of a free and democratic South Africa.”<\/p>\n
The Presidency appealed to the media and the public to respect the privacy of Mandela and his family.<\/p>\n
Mandela’s hospital visit in February this year was marked with much less media speculation than a hospital visit in January 2011, when few updates on his condition were made public, leading to many unfounded rumours regarding his condition.<\/p>\n
In February, the Presidency sent regular updates on his condition, but did not say in which hospital he was being treated, probably as a result of a media frenzy outside Milpark hospital in Johannesburg the year before.<\/p>\n
In 2011, he was in hospital for what the Nelson Mandela Foundation called \u0093routine checks\u0094.<\/p>\n
That year, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe eventually broke the silence on Mandela’s condition on January 27, saying that he would be discharged on the same day and receive home-based care for a respiratory infection.<\/p>\n
Another frenzy followed in December 2011, when eNews, in a review of stories from the year, carried file footage of Madiba being taken to hospital in January 2011.<\/p>\n
This triggered a flurry of rumours regarding the former president’s health.<\/p>\n
“The presidency has received calls from the media enquiring about Madiba’s health,” Maharaj said at the time.<\/p>\n
“It appears that an end of year review done by a media house may have unfortunately triggered a rumour of ill-health.”<\/p>\n
On Saturday afternoon, one military hospital in Pretoria appeared quiet with no access control or any signs of heightened security outside.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n