Pretoria - Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane joined hundreds of congregants at a Johannesburg church on Sunday in a special prayer for the speedy recovery of ailing former President Nelson Mandela.
Mandela was discharged from Milpark Hospital on Friday afternoon after spending two nights there with doctors still saying his health remained fragile. He remains under intense care at home.
The prayer meeting, at Regina Mundi Catholic Church, was also part of the Light a Candle of Hope - an initiative by Lead SA.
"Premier Mokonyane and other prominent South Africans are there to show support for Madiba by lighting a candle of hope for his speedy recovery," said Gauteng Provincial Government spokesperson Sipho Mokoena.
"Madiba deserves all the love and care that we are able to give him, that's why we will be praying to the Almighty that he gets well soon", Mokonyane was quoted as saying.
Thousands of messages from among others, US President Barack Obama and South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu have been sent to the Nelson Mandela Foundation since the news of the elder statesman hospitalisation broke.
Lead SA has also called on civil society, religious groups, politicians and the business community to show their compassion by lighting a candle from midnight on Saturday.
