Media asked to leave Mandela hospital Park Street entrance

June 28, 2013 05:05 pm | Updated November 16, 2021 08:34 pm IST - Pretoria

Ruling party supporters sing as international and local journalists broadcast outside the Mediclinic Heart Hospital where former South African President Nelson Mandela is being treated in Pretoria, South Africa, on Thursday.

Ruling party supporters sing as international and local journalists broadcast outside the Mediclinic Heart Hospital where former South African President Nelson Mandela is being treated in Pretoria, South Africa, on Thursday.

A day after Nelson Mandela’s daughter lashed out at the “crass” media frenzy around her ailing father, South African police today asked journalists to leave the road outside the entrance to the Pretoria hospital, where the global peace icon remains on life support.

Reporters were given an hour to remove their cars from the road outside the Park Street entrance to the Medi-Clinic Heart Hospital, where the 94-year-old former President was admitted 21 days ago.

Celliers Street, where the hospital’s exit is, has already been cordoned off to traffic.

Tshwane metro police told journalists that the vehicles posed a “security risk” to the hospital, SAPA news agency reported.

An official of the Tshwane metro police said the media were contravening the city’s parking by-laws. Asked how they were doing that, the officer told journalists to “look it up.”

The Park Street entrance is where reporters have kept watch since Mr. Mandela was admitted on June 8 with a recurring lung infection.

It is also the entrance used by the Mandela family, government officials, President Jacob Zuma and others to enter the hospital.

Ms. Mandela’s daughter Ms. Makaziwe on Thursday criticised the foreign media, calling them “vultures”. She said the foreign media contingent camped outside the hospital were failing to respect African custom and the family’s feelings.

“There is an element of racism to their attitude,” she told the national broadcaster SABC.

“It is like, truly, vultures waiting when the lion has devoured the buffalo, waiting there, you know, for the last carcasses. That is the image that we have as a family,” she said.

“It is very crass. The fact that my dad is a global icon, one of the 25 most influential people of the 20th century, does not mean that people cannot respect the privacy and dignity of my dad,” said Ms. Makaziwe.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.