Nelson Mandela’s friend: “it’s time to let him go''

Former South African leader Nelson Mandela remained in intensive care Monday, two days after he was hospitalized with a recurring lung infection.

The increasingly frail Mandela was rushed to a hospital in Pretoria on Saturday. Later in the day, the South African president’s office said the 94-year-old former leader was in a “serious but stable condition.”
He was breathing on his own own and his wife was by his side, the office said at the time.
After offering no updates for 48 hours, the government said Monday that Mandela’s condition was “unchanged.”
Mandela has been in and out of hospitals in recent years.
Each time he has done so, he has sparked concerns worldwide.
‘We will release him’
On Sunday, South Africans offered prayers at church services, and well-wishes poured in for Mandela from across the world.
Meanwhile, the front page of South Africa’s Sunday Times read, “It’s time to let him go.”
The paper quoted Mandela’s longtime friend Andrew Mlangeni as saying that the time may have come for South Africans to say goodbye to the beloved icon.
“You have been coming to the hospital too many times. Quite clearly you are not well and there is a possibility you might not be well again,” Mlangeni told the paper.
“Once the family releases him, the people of South Africa will follow. We will say thank you, God, you have given us this man, and we will release him too,” Mlangeni said.