South African archbishop Desmond Tutu will remain in hospital in Cape Town "for another few days" despite making good progress, his foundation announced today, four days after he was hospitalised with a recurring infection.
The 83-year-old Nobel peace laureate underwent a "small investigative procedure" on Friday night to determine the status of the infection that "he has battled to shake off for several weeks," the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation said in a statement.
While his doctors were "satisfied" with the progress of his antibiotic treatment, he will "remain in hospital for further observation and treatment for another few days", the foundation said.
Tutu was diagnosed with prostrate cancer 15 years ago.
The foundation had previously insisted his ailment was unrelated to his cancer but on Saturday the foundation revealed the two were linked.
"Although the cancer, itself, was under control, the infection was a consequence of past treatment that the archbishop had received for prostate cancer," his daughter, Reverend Mpho Tutu, said in the statement.
Tutu was first hospitalised for the infection on July 14. The name of the hospital where he is being treated has not been divulged.
A picture released by the foundation this week showed the veteran rights campaigner in his hospital bed, sharing a joke with former president Thabo Mbeki who visited the renowned cleric.
Tutu shot to worldwide fame during the apartheid era, leading demonstrations against white supremacist rule in a purple cassock while Nelson Mandela was in prison.
