Mandela ill? 

AFRICAN National Congress leader, Nelson Mandela is reported to be ill and is likely to get treatment during one of his trips abroad. 

ANC officials are, however, denying this but Mandela is reported to be under a lot of strain. He is reported to be not sleeping well and is persisting on taking a heavy workload. 

Mandela has been under a lot of pressure in recent months both at political and private levels. On the political front progress in the Codesa talks which should have resulted in the setting up of a transitional government by the next year has been very slow and frustrating. The scandal involving his estranged wife, Winnie, also seems to have taken its toll. 

These pressures have only exacerbated a medical condition diagnosed some years ago while Mandela was still under detention at Robben Island. Reports say that before his transfer from the island prison to Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town and his subsequent release it was strongly rumoured that Mandela had cancer. This has been denied. It has however, been admitted that he was treated for “an internal disorder”. 

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