South Africa's former president Nelson Mandela is now in a critical condition in hospital, with his decline coming two weeks after he was admitted to hospital with a recurrence of a lung infection.

"The condition of former president Nelson Mandela, who is still in hospital in Pretoria, has become critical," presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said in a statement.The condition of the 94-year-old, who was admitted to hospital on June 8, has worsened in the past 24 hours.It is the first time the word critical has been used by the government, which has been extremely careful in controlling the release of information about Mr Mandela's health. President Jacob Zuma broke the news after visiting Mr Mandela in hospital Sunday evening and was told by doctors "that the former president's condition had become critical over the past 24 hours".