Mandela's Daughter: 'It Doesn't Look Good'

By Eyder Peralta

Published June 27, 2013 at 6:13 AM CDT

A man holds a picture as people gather to leave messages of support for former South African President Nelson Mandela outside the Mediclinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria, South Africa.

Nelson Mandela's condition is "very critical," his daughter Makaziwe Mandela told South African broadcaster SABC.

"I reiterate that Tata is very critical, that anything is imminent," said Makaziwe. "But I want to emphasize again that it's only God who knows when the time to go is. So we will wait with Tata. He's still giving us hope by opening his eyes, he's still reactive to touch, we will live with that hope until the final end comes."

The BBC reports that during the same interview, she said "it doesn't look good."

As we've reported, the 94-year-old former South African president and anti-apartheid icon was hospitalized for a recurring respiratory infection.

Al-Jazeera says that South African President Jacob Zuma visited Mandela in the hospital Wednesday. A spokesman told the network that Zuma was "briefed by the doctors who are still doing everything they can to ensure [Mandela's] well-being."

Update at 10:17 a.m. ET. Difficult For The Family:

When Mandela's daughter was asked how the family was doing, she criticized the media.

"It's been hard. It has been hard especially because of all of this," she said, "that we have to do everything in the public eye."