Ever since the news of Nelson Mandela's hospitalization for a recurring lung infection last Saturday, concerns about his health have been mounting across South Africa, because of the government's refusal to disclose where he is being treated.

Despite the fact that the hospitalization of Mandela - the 94-year-old patriarch of South Africa's democracy - entered the seventh day on Friday, there still was confusion among the people and contradiction among the government officials about the hospital where he is undergoing treatment.

It was initially reported that Mandela has been admitted at 1 Military Hospital near South Africa's capital, Pretoria. These reports were based on the statement by Defense Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula who said that she had visited the anti-apartheid leader at the mentioned hospital on Monday.

However, when local media reported on late Thursday night that Mandela was not being treated at 1 Military Hospital, presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj refused to reveal anything about the whereabouts of the aged leader, saying that the officials are "trying to protect his privacy."

Revealing that "President Mandela is being treated at a Pretoria hospital as said from the first statement we issued," Maharaj said that there has been no official disclosure about the hospital "in order to ensure privacy and also to allow doctors space to do their work of caring for (him) without interruptions or undue pressure."