JOHANNESBURG – South Africans lit candles and prayed for Nelson Mandela at church services around the country as officials said the anti-apartheid hero was in stable condition and resting at home.
A national campaign promoted by a group of media organisations encouraged South Africans to “Light a Candle of Hope” for Mandela’s recovery from an acute respiratory infection. Officials said Mandela, 92, was still in stable condition at his home in Johannesburg after being discharged following a two-day hospital stay that had the world on edge over the health of one of its most beloved icons.
At the Regina Mundi Catholic Church in Soweto, the township where Mandela lived before being jailed by the apartheid state, provincial premier Nomvula Mokonyane led a candle-lighting ceremony and thanked Madiba – the clan name by which Mandela is affectionately known – for his sacrifices for the country.
