Nelson Mandela Remains 'Serious But Stable' Security is tightened at the hospital where the former South African president is being treated for a recurring lung infection.

South Africans are praying for their hero's recovery

Former South African president Nelson Mandela remains in a "serious but stable" condition after being admitted to hospital four days ago with a lung infection, the country's government said.

President Jacob Zuma had been briefed by doctors about 94-year-old Mr Mandela's condition and was satisfied that they were "doing their best to make Madiba better", said a statement.

In South Africa, Mandela is commonly referred to by his clan name, Madiba.

Mr Zuma met the medical team that is treating the former president on Monday, and "they gave him a thorough briefing", said the statement.

It added: "President Zuma has full confidence in the medical team."

Police have tightened security around the Pretoria hospital which is treating Mr Mandela, who is revered around the world for leading the struggle to end South Africa's apartheid system of racial segregation and white-minority rule.

Around a dozen police officers were deployed outside the building, which was cordoned off by barriers and police tape to keep a phalanx of domestic and international reporters and television crews from the entrance.Police search vehicles at the hospital where Mr Mandela is being treated

All vehicles going into the building were being searched.

Mr Mandela was admitted in the early hours of Saturday with a recurring lung infection. He was said to be "seriously ill" at the time but in subsequent bulletins has been "serious but stable".

It is his fourth hospital stay since December, and there is a growing realisation among South Africa's 53 million people that they will one day have to say goodbye to the father of the "Rainbow Nation" that Mr Mandela tried to forge from the ashes of apartheid.

Mr Mandela has received visits from family members including his wife, Graca Machel, and former wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.

The former president has a history of lung problems dating back to his time on the wind-swept Robben Island prison camp near Cape Town.

Before his 1990 release he spent 27 years in prison for conspiring to overthrow the apartheid government before becoming South Africa's first black president in 1994.

The government statement dismissed reports that Mr Zuma would visit Mr Mandela today saying: "The President is in Cape Town preparing for the Budget Vote of the Presidency."