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Nelson Mandela is a “shell of himself” says his longtime friend and ex-prison mate. Ahmed Kathrade battled apartheid alongside Mr. Mandela and visited the ailing former leader in a South African hospital recently.

Kathrade described seeing Mandela. “All the years that we knew him, we knew him, somebody who was very conscious of his health, somebody who exercised in and outside of jail, regularly, and here you see a person who’s different. A shell of himself,” he told the Associated Press Wednesday (July 10). “It was an overwhelming feeling of sadness, and of course the unrealistic wish and prayer that he can be with us for longer and longer.”

Health was always a priority for the 94-year-old  who used to be a boxer, a gymnast,  and stayed active during his 27-year prison sentence. “He was a very strong person,” Kathrade added.

Mandela has been in and out of the hospital for the last several months. He was most recently hospitalized on June 8 after a lung infection re-appeared.

While Mandela is “responding” to medical treatment, he’s not out of the woods. “We are encouraged that Madiba [Mandela] is responding to treatment and urge the public to continue providing support and showering him with love which gives him and the family strength,” South African current president Jacob Zuma said in a statement.

Zuma has called for global prayers in honor of Mandela. The Nobel Peace Prize winner is set to turn 95  next Thursday (July 18).

Photo: ENCA.com