Former South African president Nelson Mandela is still unable to speak but uses facial expressions to communicate, his ex-wife has told a local newspaper.
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela said the 95-year-old remained "quite ill" but she dismissed speculation that he was on a life support machine.
In September Mr Mandela returned home after nearly three months in hospital with a recurring lung infection.
The government has said his condition is critical and sometimes unstable.
He is no longer talking "because of all the tubes that are in his mouth to clear [fluid from] the lungs", Ms Madikizela-Mandel told South Africa's Sunday Independent newspaper.
"He can't actually articulate anything... He communicates with the face, you see. But the doctors have told us they hope to recover his voice."
"I have heard this nonsense that he is on life support - he
