Buthelezi treated for high blood pressure

Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi, 83, is recovering in hospital after being admitted for high blood pressure.

Nursing staff at Garden Clinic Hospital in Empangeni, about 160km north of Durban, said a drip had been administered and that he was recovering well.

Buthelezi's spokeswoman, Liezl van der Merwe, said Buthelezi had been admitted "in order for him to obtain the rest he needs".

According to Van der Merwe, doctors had expressed concern that Buthelezi was suffering from fatigue because of his busy schedule.

"It is well known that in the last decade, Buthelezi has never taken holidays and works at a pace that few can keep up with," she said.

Although doctors had advised against people visiting Buthelezi, nurses said that several people had visited the politician.

Van der Merwe said his doctors had ordered him to rest.

"We thank the public for their understanding in this regard," she said.

Staff at the hospital said Buthelezi would be discharged this week.

Buthelezi was diagnosed with diabetes more than 30 years ago.

In 2003, he stunned delegates at his party's Youth Brigade conference in Ulundi, KwaZulu-Natal, when he laid bare the details of his diabetic condition.

He revealed that he had to inject himself four times a day, after meals.

He said he had wanted to go public about his condition to encourage others who contracted the illness with the message that there was always hope.