Ailing Nelson Mandela is 'a shell of himself', one of the anti-apartheid hero's oldest friends has said, after visiting the hospitalized former South African president.
Ahmed Kathrada, who fought against the racist apartheid regime and spent years in prison with Mandela, said visiting the 94-year-old was traumatic.
According to the New York Daily News, Kathrada added that meeting Mandela was an overwhelming feeling of sadness.
He said that even when they were behind bars, a younger Mandela exercised to keep fit, adding that he was a boxer, a gymnast and a very strong person.
South African Government has said Mandela is in critical but stable condition. He was hospitalized June 8 with a lung infection.
