South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma was on Saturday admitted to a Pretoria hospital for tests following a bout of exhaustion, his office said.

“Doctors are satisfied with his condition,” his office said in a statement without giving details.
Zuma’s spokesman Mac Maharaj told AFP the president has been advised to get some rest, but “there is no cause for concern. It’s a case of exhaustion.”


The presidency on Friday said Zuma would “take a few days off from public engagements while continuing to perform official duties from home”.

He had been “advised to rest following a demanding election and transition programme to the new administration,” it added in a separate statement Saturday.

“It’s been a hectic period and there has been a need for some rest,” said Maharaj.

Zuma, 72 was sworn in two weeks ago for a second term after his African National Congress (ANC) party won the May 7 elections with an overwhelming 62 percent of the vote.

Zuma was last in hospital in March last year when he visited three hospitals in one day for his annual health check-up in Durban.
The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) wished Zuma a speedy recovery.

“We also await clarity on the condition of the president and whether the deputy president has taken over his official duties,” DA parliamentary leader Mmusi Maimane said in a statement