Pray for Madiba: Nelson Mandela is ‘unresponsive and has not opened his eyes for

Nelson Mandela is unresponsive and his  immediate family is now discussing whether to withdraw treatment, it has been  claimed.

The 94-year-old has been in hospital for two weeks battling a recurring lung infection, but previous statements have  indicated that Mr Mandela’s health is improving.

According to a new source, Mr Mandela’s liver and kidney functions are down to 50 per cent and he has not opened his eyes for  days.

New claims: Reports of Mandela’s improving condition may  have been false after a source reveals Mr Mandela has been ‘unresponsive’ for  days
He has also had two recent procedures, one to repair a bleeding ulcer and another to insert a tube into his body, CBS News  reports.

This information indicates that Mr Mandela’s situation is much more much more serious than has been reported by South African authorities.

In an interview last week, South African  president Jacob Zuma said Mr Mandela was responding better to  treatment.

Marking the 49th anniversary of the  sentencing of the former president to life in prison in 1964, last Wednesday Mr  Zuma said: ‘We are very happy with the progress that he is now making following  a difficult last few days.’

Following the interview with the ANC leader,  a government spokesman told local radio that Mr Mandela remained in a ‘serious  but stable’ condition.

Contradiction: South African President and ANC leader  Jacob Zuma, pictured with Mr Mandela in April, has reported that the apartheid  hero’s health is improving
As recent as Thursday, one of Nelson  Mandela’s grandsons said he hoped Mandela would be discharged shortly as his  health was improving.

‘Positively we can say that he has been  getting better and better each day and hopefully he’ll be coming home soon,’  Ndaba Mandela told South African newspaper The Star.

However, details about the night Mr Mandela  arrived in hospital two weeks ago have emerged.

According to CBS News, Mr Mandela went into  cardiac arrest the night he was taken to Pretoria Hospital and had to be  resuscitated.

As Mr Mandela was driven to the hospital the  ambulance suffered an engine failure and was forced to wait for over 40 minutes  for a replacement.

Family worries: Winnie and Zindzi Mandela, ex-wife and  daughter of Nelson Mandela, pictured with an unidentified man at the hospital  last week, are said to be discussing whether to continue the 94-year-old’s  treatments
When the second ambulance arrived Mr Mandela  had to be transferred – in winter temperatures- to a second vehicle which could  have had an impact on his condition, according to a cardiologist interviewed by  CBS.

South African government officials have said  ‘great care was taken to ensure that Mandela’s health was not compromised and  that his doctors were satisfied the former president suffered no  harm.’

Mandela, who turns 95 next month, is being  treated at a Pretoria hospital for a recurring lung infection.

The hospital stay is his fourth since December and there is a growing realisation among South Africa’s 53million  people that they will one day have to say goodbye to the father of the ‘Rainbow  Nation’ that Mandela tried to forge from the ashes of apartheid.

Read more: DailyMail