Nelson Mandela is making progress and responding well to treatment for pneumonia, according to South African President Jacob Zuma.

Although no one is saying how long he will remain there, Zuma said Mandela is “stable and we are thankful that he is responding well to treatment and that he is much better.”

The 94-year-old former political prisoner who rose to the South African Presidency has been in hospital since 27 March to be treated for a recurring lung infection.  It’s Mandela’s fourth stay in hospital in two years.

Mandela contracted tuberculosis in the 1980s while he was a political prisoner on Robben Island.  He also suffered damage to his lungs when he was assigned to work in the prison quarry.

Despite the mistreatment, Mandela forgave his former enemies and became South Africa’s first black president.