<p>As the world prayed for the speedy recovery of ailing peace icon Nelson Mandela, his former wife said that it was extremely painful to see the anti-apartheid leader's present state of health but it was "God's wish".<br /><br />Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, who was married to the former South African president from 1958 to 1996, dismissed any suggestion that the family was discussing whether to end life support to 94-year-old Mandela.<br /><br />"It was nonsense to suggest we needed to take a decision to pull the tubes," Winnie told ITV News. "It was hurtful and cruel."<br /><br />"It is extremely painful to see him going through what he's going through now. But it's God's wish," Winnie said.<br /><br />Mandela remains in critical but stable condition at the Mediclinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria where he has been battling a recurring lung infection since June 8.<br />But daughter Zindzi Mandela told ITV that her father is alert and recognises when a new person enters his hospital room.<br /><br />"The one time he did speak was to tell my mom to sit down ...because she was standing at the edge of his bed," she said.</p>.<p><br />Mandela, respected across the globe as a symbol of resistance against injustice, spent 27 years behind the bars fighting the minority apartheid regime to establish the multiracial democracy in South Africa.<br /><br />Mandela had a long history of lung problems, dating back to the time when he was a political prisoner on Robben Island during apartheid. While in jail he contracted tuberculosis.<br /><br />Mandela is revered for leading the fight against white minority rule in the African country and then preaching reconciliation despite being imprisoned for 27 years.<br />Mandela served as the country's first black president from 1994 to 1999.He left power after five years as president.<br /><br />Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.</p>.<p><br />He retired from public life in 2004 and has not been seen in public since the football World Cup finals in in 2010.<br /><br />Well-wishers were singing and saying prayers outside the Hospital and at Soweto former home of Mandela, who turns 95 on July 18.</p>
<p>As the world prayed for the speedy recovery of ailing peace icon Nelson Mandela, his former wife said that it was extremely painful to see the anti-apartheid leader's present state of health but it was "God's wish".<br /><br />Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, who was married to the former South African president from 1958 to 1996, dismissed any suggestion that the family was discussing whether to end life support to 94-year-old Mandela.<br /><br />"It was nonsense to suggest we needed to take a decision to pull the tubes," Winnie told ITV News. "It was hurtful and cruel."<br /><br />"It is extremely painful to see him going through what he's going through now. But it's God's wish," Winnie said.<br /><br />Mandela remains in critical but stable condition at the Mediclinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria where he has been battling a recurring lung infection since June 8.<br />But daughter Zindzi Mandela told ITV that her father is alert and recognises when a new person enters his hospital room.<br /><br />"The one time he did speak was to tell my mom to sit down ...because she was standing at the edge of his bed," she said.</p>.<p><br />Mandela, respected across the globe as a symbol of resistance against injustice, spent 27 years behind the bars fighting the minority apartheid regime to establish the multiracial democracy in South Africa.<br /><br />Mandela had a long history of lung problems, dating back to the time when he was a political prisoner on Robben Island during apartheid. While in jail he contracted tuberculosis.<br /><br />Mandela is revered for leading the fight against white minority rule in the African country and then preaching reconciliation despite being imprisoned for 27 years.<br />Mandela served as the country's first black president from 1994 to 1999.He left power after five years as president.<br /><br />Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.</p>.<p><br />He retired from public life in 2004 and has not been seen in public since the football World Cup finals in in 2010.<br /><br />Well-wishers were singing and saying prayers outside the Hospital and at Soweto former home of Mandela, who turns 95 on July 18.</p>