

For five days, local and international journalists staked out 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria, hoping to pick up information about the health of the 94-year old former president. It was unusually quiet—few sightings of top officials and no family members. On Thursday, the media discovered they weren't in the right place.

Journalists wait outside the 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria, South Africa, on Wednesday. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

Broadcast journalists, who were outside 1 Military Hospital since Sunday, were told late Thursday by presidency spokesman Mac Maharaj that the former president was at a separate unidentified hospital. He asked they not reveal the hospital's name, sparking questions about how serious his illness is.

The search for Mr. Mandela's correct hospital has coincided with a flurry of rumors about whether the antiapartheid struggle icon had already died. Or, as some tweeted, already been released.

Mr. Maharaj said Friday that rumors of Mr. Mandela's death and hospital discharge were both false. The presidency called on journalists to respect the privacy of Mr. Mandela and his family.

"The focus is—how is the president, and, is he getting the best medical treatment," Mr. Maharaj said. "Everything else, let's sort it out later."

The health of Mr. Mandela, who 18 years ago was elected the country's first black president after a system of racial segregation, has been the cause of frequent national hand-wringing. Most recently, Mr. Mandela was admitted to a Pretoria hospital to undergo an operation in February for a stomach ailment. In January 2011, he was also in the hospital for a respiratory infection; then, the dearth of information about his health prompted criticism of both the government for not releasing more timely updates and anger at the press for intrusive stakeouts.

On Saturday, Former President Mandela was again admitted to a Pretoria hospital to receive tests that the presidency later said was to treat a lung recurring infection. He was flown from his village home in Qunu in the Eastern Cape.

Journalists began to gather outside 1 Military Hospital Sunday after reporters for a local radio station said they had confirmation the former freedom fighter was inside. Minister of Defense Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula visited 1 Military on Monday and spoke with reporters outside, confirming she had seen Mr. Mandela inside. A spokesman for the defense minister said Friday that when she visited the hospital Mr. Mandela was there, declining to give more information.

Mr. Maharaj, the president's spokesman, refused to comment on whether or not Mr. Mandela had been moved sometime during the week.

On Friday, a half dozen camera crews were waiting outside another Pretoria hospital where South African officials told them Mr. Mandela was receiving treatment, on the condition that they not release its name or precise location. Prince Tshepo, a cameraman for a South African television station who had been staking out the main entrance of that hospital since 7 a.m., said it was wrong of the government to withhold information about the health of the iconic former president.

"It's in the public interest," he said.

Write to Devon Maylie at and Patrick McGroarty at