BAADA YA KUUMWA KWA MUDA MREFU: MANDELA SASA ASHEREKEA SIKU YA KUZALIWA AKIWA NA NAFUU

Nelson Mandela  is making "remarkable progress" as the former South African president celebrated his 95th birthday in hospital, barely a month after he was said to be on the brink of death.

As he was showered by by tributes from around the globe his daughter Zindzi Mandela revealed a marked turnaround in his health.

Zindzi, whose mother is Mandela's second wife Winnie, said: "Tata (our father) is making this remarkable progress and we look forward to having him back home soon.

"I visited him and he was watching television with headphones," she told Sky TV yesterday.

"He gave us a huge smile and raised his hand ... He responds with his eyes and his hands."

Zindzi said the family planned to give Mandela a collage of family photographs for a present and have lunch together at the hospital where their patriarch is being treated.

He has been receiving intensive treatment since June 8 for a recurring lung infection, his fourth stay in hospital in six months.

While many carried out volunteer work on UN-declared Nelson Mandela Day, Zindzi led government workers in singing "Happy Birthday" to the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, one of numerous celebrations across the country.



And whiile the Mandela family plan a private gathering today in hospital, thousands of South Africans led the global outpouring of support for the man regarded as the father of the multiracial "Rainbow Nation" established in 1994 when he was elected its first black president at the end of apartheid.


Watoto wakiimba nyimbo ya Birthday kwa Mandela