Nelson Mandela 'At Peace,' Daughter Says, 'Only God Knows the End'
Nelson Mandela remains in critical condition in South Africa, but his daughter said she believes he is "at peace" and will continue to pray for her father.
"All we do every day is take one day at a time and pray to the good Lord," Makaziwe Mandela told CNN's Robyn Curnow. "All I pray for as a daughter is that the transition is smooth. He is at peace with himself. He has given so much to the world. I believe he is at peace."
Nelson has been in and out of the hospital with various illnesses. This latest is a lung infection that has kept him in the hospital for more than two weeks. World leaders have paid tribute to the civil rights leader who fought apartheid in South Africa. President Jacob Zuma has been kept up-to-date on Nelson's condition and visited his hospital room.
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"Doctors are doing everything possible to ensure his well-being and comfort," Zuma said in the most recent press conference.
"They haven't stopped treating him with all the best medicine in the world," Makaziwe told CNN. "He still opens his eyes… the touch is there. In our culture, the Tembu culture, you never release the person unless the person has told you: 'Please, my children, my family, release me.' My dad hasn't said that to us."
Makaziwe added that she and her family have not received such instructions from her father and will honor his wishes to continue treatment until the very end. The family is gathered by Nelson's bedside as he possibly passes away.
"Give us the space to be with our father. Whether these are the last moments with us to be with our dad or there is still a longer. But they must back off," Makaziwe said of the media staying at the hospital, watching their every move.
"So these people who want to talk about, you know, release him… he hasn't said we should release him and we haven't come to the end yet. It is only God who knows the end," she added.
