S. Africans to light candles in support of Mandela

[January 29, 2011]  JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- A talk radio station is asking South Africans to light candles at home to show support for former President Nelson Mandela after his release from a local hospital.

Event organizer Yusuf Abramjee said Saturday the gesture promoted by Talk Radio 702 will send positive energy to the 92-year-old Mandela, affectionately known by his clan name Madiba. He recently spent two nights in a Johannesburg hospital for what his doctor said was a respiratory infection.

Abramjee says: "We owe it to Madiba and his family. Some senior government officials came to me with the idea yesterday, and South Africans latched onto it immediately."

Mandela became South Africa's first black president after serving 27 years in prison for his fight against racist rule.

[Associated Press]

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