JOHANNESBURG - Former South African president Nelson Mandela is fine though he may be uncomfortable and feel pain at times, his wife Graca Machel said on Thursday.

Graca made the remarks while attending the launch of a new sports initiative at the Nelson Mandela Center for Memory in Johannesburg.

Her remarks served as the latest update on Mandela's health in the absence of an official statement since Monday, when President Jacob Zuma said Mandela "is still critical but stable" in a Pretoria hospital where he was admitted on June 8 for a recurring lung problem.

Michel once again thanked South Africa and the world for their prayers and good wishes.

She said her husband's gift remains to unite people.

Mandela's health is "perilous," being assisted in breathing by a life support machine, according to an affidavit filed by Mandela's eldest daughter Makaziwe.

The anticipation of the former president's impending death is based on real and substantial grounds, Makaziwe said in the statement which formed the core of court papers over a lawsuit in relation to the family's gravesite.

Mandela's family members are at loggerheads in a court battle pitting Mandela's grandson Mandla against 16 other family members.

Mandla wants the remains of Mandela's three children to be buried in Mvezo, Easter Cape, while the other family members want Qunu to be the family gravesite.