South Africa’s last white minority president F W de Klerk is to be fitted with a pacemaker after the 77-year-old reported suffering dizzy spells following his return to South Africa from a trip abroad.
The F W de Klerk Foundation’s David Steward said, “He’ll be going into hospital later on Tuesday (July 2). It’s a routine procedure and doesn’t require a general anaesthetic.”
De Klerk and his wife Elita returned home from abroad on Sunday because of concerns over fellow former president Nelson Mandela’s health. It’s believed he felt it would be appropriate to cancel his holiday in Greece and return to South Africa to await developments.
Mandela was admitted to the Mediclinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria on 8 June for a recurring lung infection. In a statement released on Monday afternoon, President Jacob Zuma’s office said Mandela remained in a critical but stable condition.
Steward said de Klerk had been monitoring his successor for the presidency’s situation very closely. It is unclear if de Klerk will visit Mandela, with whom he was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, in hospital.
De Klerk is expected to be discharged from hospital by Thursday.
