The hospital in Pretoria at which Nelson Mandela is being treated is a hub of activity and speculation. Residents in the area tell their stories to reporters – and everyone waits for news of the former statesman's health. But the news never comes, and the wait continues as the world prepares for Mandela to spend a sixth night in hospital. 

Seth Kwabena has a shoe stall across the road from the hospital where Nelson Mandela is being treated. He sits behind a fence, watching the international media load and unload their camera equipment. He is nonplussed about the slow march of news reporters, toing-and-froing up and down his neighbourhood. 

But his patience with the press is wearing thin: the countless interviews he has done since Mandela's admission on Saturday are starting to eat into his work schedule.

"I've already told my story. Can't you do this interview, Maurice?" he says to his neighbour. Maurice is camera-shy.

Seth and Maurice were two of the first locals to taste fame in the hours after Mandela's admission to hospital, and the influx of press that followed. In the absence of any real news about Mandela's condition, their thoughts and impressions make for satisfactory camera inserts.

Scripts with nothing new
Outside the entrance to the hospital, international news teams get ready to go live at 1pm. An American news anchor rehearses her script.

"We are standing outside the Pretoria [Mediclinic] Heart Hospital in the capital, where former South African president Nelson Mandela enters his fifth day in hospital. Behind me you can see the South African Police Service securing the hospital venue … Well, Mike, we know that Mandela is being treated for a lung infection …" 

A local news broadcaster goes live across the road: 

"What we know is that President Jacob Zuma has been thoroughly briefed on Mandela's condition, and has sought to assure the nation that Mandela is receiving the best possible care … At this stage we can report that Mandela's condition appears unchanged. He is in a serious condition, but he is stable … "

Camerapeople divide their resources between the front and back entrances of the hospital hoping to catch a glimpse of high-profile visitors. 

Rumours circulate that two Mandela children have visited, but no one is sure. General consensus outside the hospital is that this is strange, because visitors have visited at 3pm each day since Mandela's admission. A change in visiting hours could mean anything. And no one has any details to confirm their suspicions. 

Searches
Mandela's former wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, has reportedly visited each afternoon. His present wife, Graça Machel, and grandson, Mandla Mandela, were seen at the hospital on Wednesday, too.

Reporters stand across the road with cameras at the ready. Police have cordoned off the hospital entrance. All cars are thoroughly searched – including a private ambulance service entering the hospital. 

Back at the hospital's front entrance, Portuguese television reporter Antonio Mateus is filming an insert. He has done many interviews around the hospital and knows people such as Seth and Maurice well. Mateus spent 10 years of his career following Mandela's meteoric rise to global icon and his subsequent retirement from politics. 

He is reading a newspaper report about former ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema's possible return to politics. 

"Mandela will leave big shoes to fill. In Europe, people wonder if a populist will step into the void," Mateus says. He remembers Mandela's inauguration as president as if it was yesterday. 

"I cried. And 10 years later when I watched Invictus, I cried again. I met my wife while following Mandela around South Africa. I fell in love with your country." 

Vultures
Bernard*, a security guard who works at a building about a block away from the hospital, attended Mandela's inauguration at the Union Buildings. Bernard eats a sandwich in the park nearby. He watches the hospital with suspicion. 

"You know, I come from a rural area. And where I come from, when a cow is about to die, the vultures circle overhead. That's what you guys are like," he says, pointing his finger. 

Above Bernard's head is a skyscraper draped in Nelson Mandela's name. It is a reminder to the public that Mandela's face now graces South African paper money. 

A homeless man digs in a dustbin nearby. Across the road is a police station, situated adjacent to the western face of the Pretoria Heart hospital. On the street below, Adelaide Molemo waits for a taxi. 

"I just wish him a speedy recovery. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here, getting into this taxi. He must just rest and get better, please," she says.

'All I can say about Mandela'
Reluctantly, Kwabena agrees to retell his story to the M&G. He is from Ghana and has lived in South Africa for five years. He left his wife and two children behind in Ghana after a family feud. 

He vividly remembers watching Mandela's 1994 presidential inauguration on Ghanaian television station. 

"Mandela has compassion. He is generous; committed. He said, let black and whites live together. He didn't ask all the white men to leave the country. He's a hero and a freedom fighter. That's all I can say about Mandela," Kwabena says. 

Kwabena wears a Blue Bulls cap and a Kaiser Chiefs T-shirt. 

"They are my favourite teams," he says with a chuckle. "Especially the Blue Bulls. But you know, when you live in Pretoria, you don't really have a choice."

*Not his real name