Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa, took a turn for the worse and was in critical condition today in his battle with a lung infection, according to a statement from the South African president's office and reported by ABC News.

"The doctors are doing everything possible to get his condition to improve and are ensuring that Madiba is well-looked after and is comfortable. He is in good hands," South African Jacob Zuma said, using Mandela's tribal nickname.

Mandela had been listed in "serious but stable condition" for since he entered the hospital June 8.

The 94-year-old Nobel Peace prize winner's medical team informed the president's office that Mandela's condition become critical over the past 24 hours, according to the statement.

Mandela was rushed to the hospital in the early morning hours of June 8, after his health deteriorated rapidly from a recurring lung infection.

News of Mandela's turn for the worse comes after a week in which there were several statement's that his health was improving.

Former South African president Thabo Mbeki suggested Saturday that Mandela was getting better.

After speaking to Mandela's doctors, Mbeki told a South African radio station, "Nelson Mandela is improving in terms of his health. I don't think anyone should entertain some sort of wrong notion that Nelson Mandela is about to die tomorrow. He's not going to."

Earlier this week, Mandela's daughter Zenani Mandela-Dlamini told a crowd of reporters outside Mediclinic Heart Hospital her father "is doing very well." President Jacob Zuma has also said publicly Mandela's health is "improving."

In April, Mandela spent 18 days in the hospital due to a lung infection, according to ABC, and was treated for gall stones in December 2012.

Mandela served as the first black president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999.

In 1993, he received a Nobel Peace Prize for his work in ending apartheid through non-violent means.