( CNN ) -- A video of a frail and unamused looking Nelson Mandela surrounded by South African President Jacob Zuma and other officials has prompted cries of political exploitation by the government . In the footage released by the South African Broadcasting Corp. , the 94-year-old Mandela sits in a chair at his Johannesburg home , barely moving and never smiling as leaders from the governing African National Congress arrange themselves for a photo opportunity . At one point Mandela 's grandson takes a picture with flash , causing him to close his eyes and purse his lips . The former president is sensitive to flash photography from his years laboring in quarries during his imprisonment under the country 's apartheid government . Zuma says Mandela is in `` good shape , '' but the footage seems to show him looking anything but -- and the stunt provoked outrage from many in South Africa who accused the ANC and SABC of parading the country 's anti-apartheid hero on television for their own benefit . `` Very sad seeing the footage of Madiba . And who was the idiot who took a pic of him with a flash ? Disgraceful . Leave him alone '' , tweeted Johannesburg radio DJ John Robbie , using the clan name by which Mandela is widely referred to in South Africa . Another Twitter user , Brent Lindeque , wrote : `` After everything Madiba has done for us this is how they treat him . Like an animal at the zoo . Shame on the ANC ! '' `` [ A ] fter months of attacking media for 'invading ' Mandela 's privacy , ANC today released an invasive video of a clearly ailing and grim Mandela , '' tweeted journalist Geoffrey York . One Johannesburg radio station wrote : `` The way # Madiba was paraded on SABC TV this evening was horrible ! Grotesque 'journalism ' . All involved should hang their heads in shame ! '' Mandela endured 27 years in prison before becoming the country 's first black president in 1994 . He has become increasingly frail over the years and has been hospitalized three times in the past five months , most recently for a lung infection in March . The ANC may have been critical of the media in the past for not respecting Mandela 's privacy since his withdrawal from public life , but the party rejected any criticism of Monday 's house call . `` The African National Congress has noted the determined efforts by some sections of our society to degrade the visit of the National Office Bearers to Comrade Nelson Mandela , '' party spokesman Jackson Mthembu said in a statement . Mthembu said the visit `` was in line with the accepted norms of Ubuntu that we value our elderly , '' and the party `` stands by its statements that President Mandela is in good health and in good spirits . '' `` South Africans are called upon to appreciate that Tata is 94 years old ; he will thus be frail and not as active and energetic as we all fondly remember him . There is no reason to be alarmed by the visuals of an elderly person who clearly is receiving the necessary care and attention . '' Geoffrey York countered on Twitter : `` ANC misses point . Criticism was because of its political exploitation of Mandela ; not because of 'fear ' of the images . '' Another user , Siya_Ntshoko , wrote : `` [ T ] he # ANC has no compunction about using a 94 year old frail man to canvass for votes - anything for nostalgia . '' The video released Monday was the first of the former leader since his birthday last July . Mandela , a Nobel Peace Prize winner , has a history of lung problems dating back to when he was a political prisoner on Robben Island during apartheid . He contracted tuberculosis during his imprisonment . He underwent treatment for a lung infection and had surgery to remove gallstones over the Christmas holiday in 2012 , one of his longest hospital stays since his release from prison in 1990 . Dana Ford and CNN Wires contributed to this report .
South Africa 's ruling party accused of exploiting Africans complained over new video . Video shows anti - apartheid hero worship by African National Congress supporters . Footage , which shows a tired , tired - looking Mandela , was aired on SABC on Monday . Radio Today : ` ` The way Madiba was treated on SABC TV this evening was horrible ! ''