Nelson Mandela’s office on Tuesday dismissed an e-mail alleging that the former South African president had suffered a stroke as a hoax.
“It is a hoax e-mail that has been doing the rounds for about six weeks now,” Mandela spokesperson Zelda la Grange said.
“We don’t know the origin of the e-mail, but we are not going to waste energy trying to find out either as we won’t allow rumours to dictate our lives. Madiba is not ill.”
The 88-year-old Nobel peace prize-winner is also known by his clan name Madiba.
Mandela served as South Africa’s first black president after winning the first multiracial elections in 1994, but stepped down as president eight years ago.
He retired from public life in 2004 but remains a hugely popular figure both at home and abroad. While he has grown increasingly frail and has difficulty walking unassisted, he has avoided any major health scare.
La Grange said Mandela was presently in Mozambique with his wife, Graca Machel, the widow of former Mozambican president Samora Machel.
“We speak to him almost every day and he is in good spirits and is doing well,” she said. — AFP