(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.
Nelson Mandela, now 94, endured 27 years in prison before becoming South Africa's first president from 1994 to 1999. Pictured, Mandela in Mmabatho for an election rally on March 15, 1994.
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"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.
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Mandela married his second wife, social worker Winnie Madikizela, in 1958. At the time, he was an active member of the African National Congress and had begun his lifelong commitment to ending segregation in South Africa.
In 1964, Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment for plotting to overthrow South Africa's apartheid regime. Here, his wife, Winnie, leaves the courtroom after the verdict.
Winnie Mandela addresses a crowd of supporters in Johannesburg in 1988, standing in front of a pile of cards addressed to her husband at an event marking his 70th birthday. She led an international campaign calling for his release.
Nelson and Winnie Mandela raise their fists to salute a cheering crowd upon his 1990 release from Victor Verster Prison. He was still as upright and proud, he would say, as the day he walked into prison 27 years before.
A jubilant South African holds up a newspaper announcing Mandela's release from prison at an ANC rally in Soweto on February 11, 1990.
Mandela attends a rally celebrating his release from jail at Soweto Soccer City stadium on February 13, 1990. More than 100,000 people attended the event.
Mandela and Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda arrive at an ANC rally on March 3, 1990, in Lusaka, Zambia. Mandela was elected president of the ANC the next year.
After his release in 1990, Mandela embarked on a world tour, meeting U.S. President George Bush at the White House in June.
At his Soweto home on July 18, 1990, Mandela blows out the candles on his 72nd birthday cake. It was the first birthday he celebrated as a free man since the 1960s.
South African President Frederik de Klerk, right, and Mandela shared a Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 for their work to secure a peaceful transition from apartheid rule.
An estimated 40,000 ANC supporters listen to Mandela's address during a 1994 rally ahead of South Africa's general election.
Mandela was elected president in the first open election in South African history on April 29, 1994. He's pictured here taking the oath at his inauguration in May, becoming the nation's first black president.
After one term as president, Mandela stepped down. Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki, at right, was sworn in as his replacement in June 1999.
Mandela was sent to the infamous Robben Island, a prison five miles off the coast of South Africa, where he would spend 18 of his 27 years behind bars. His cell is shown here in 2003.
Mandela sits outside his former prison cell on Robben Island on November 28, 2003 ahead of his AIDS benefit concert at Green Point Stadium in Cape Town.
The "46664 - Give One Minute of Your Life to AIDS" concert was held on November 29, 2003. 46664 was Mandela's identification number in prison.
Mandela shows something to a group of international journalists visiting the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg, May 2004.
Mandela welcomes a group of international journalists visiting the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg in May 2004.
Mandela throws a rose on the grave of his son Makgatho in Qunu on January 15, 2005. He disclosed that his son had died of AIDS and said the disease should be given publicity so people would stop viewing it as extraordinary.
The "46664 Arctic" benefit concert was held in Tromso, Norway, on June 11, 2005. Mandela is pictured here surrounded by artists who performed at the event.
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton leans down to whisper to former South African President Nelson Mandela during a visit to the Nelson Mandela Foundation on July 19, 2007 in Johannesburg.
A bronze statue of Mandela was unveiled in Parliament Square in London on August 29, 2007. The 9-foot statue faces the Houses of Parliament.
Mandela poses with the Webb Ellis Cup during the Springboks rugby team's visit to his Johannesburg home on October 27, 2007. South Africa became the holders of the cup after defeating England in the 2007 Rugby World Cup Final.
Mandela leaves the InterContinental Hotel after a photoshoot with celebrity photographer Terry O'Neil on June 26, 2008 in London, England.
Mandela celebrates his 90th birthday at a celebration in July 2008 in his rural village.
Mandela meets in 2009 with international children as part of his 46664 Foundation, named after the number he wore while imprisoned for 27 years.
Mandela votes April 2009 in South Africa's fourth democratic election.
South African defender Aaron Mokoena presents a jersey for the national team to Mandela when meeting before a semifinal match against Brazil, June 2009.
An inmate at the Groot Drakenstein Prison in February 2010 cleans the base of a bronze statue depicting Mandela walking to freedom in 1990. Mandela spent his final months of imprisonment in a private house at Groot Drakenstein.
Nelson Mandela and his third wife, Graca Machel, arrive at the 2010 World Cup before the final match between Netherlands and Spain on July 11, 2010, at Soccer City Stadium in Soweto.
Surrounded by family members, Mandela celebrates his 92nd birthday at his home in Johannesburg on July 18, 2010.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets with Mandela, 94, at his home in Qunu, South Africa, on August 6, 2012.
South African broadcaster SABC released images of South African President Jacob Zuma sitting by Mandela April 29 at the former leader's home in Johannesburg. They were the first public images of Mandela since President Clinton visited in August. The ruling party was accused of exploiting a frail Mandela for the photo opportunity.
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