South African president in hospital for tests

CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA
Associated Press

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African President Jacob Zuma was admitted to a hospital for tests on Saturday, and doctors are satisfied with his condition, his office said.

The announcement came two weeks after Zuma was inaugurated for a second five-year term following the election victory last month of the ruling African National Congress party.

“Yesterday President Zuma was advised to rest following a demanding election and transition program to the new administration,” his office said in a statement.

No further details were given.

In a separate statement on Friday, Zuma’s office said the president would take a few days off from public engagements while continuing to perform official duties from home.

South Africa’s main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, wished Zuma a quick recovery.

“We also await clarity on the condition of the President and whether the Deputy President has taken over his official duties,” the party said in a statement.

South Africa’s new deputy president, Cyril Ramaphosa, said late last month that he was disinvesting from a major investment group that he founded to avoid any conflict of interest with his political position. Ramaphosa was a union leader during white rule, which ended in 1994 with the country’s first all-race elections.

Zuma, a former anti-apartheid activist, was inaugurated May 24 in a ceremony marked by dance, prayer, a 21-gun salute and air force flyovers. In a speech, he said South Africa was a better place to live in than it was in 1994 but that poverty, unemployment and other problems persist.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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