[ 2013-09-01 ]

Nelson Mandela leaves hospital, returns home
JOHANNESBURG, Gauteng (AFP) - South Africa's
anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela was Sunday
discharged from hospital where he has been treated
since June 8 for a recurring respiratory illness,
the presidency said.

Despite his release, questions remain about the
health of the 95-year-old Nobel laureate who has
been in and out of hospital for a year and who,
the presidency said, remains in "critical"
condition.

"Former President Nelson Mandela has this morning,
1 September 2013, been discharged from the
Pretoria hospital where he has been receiving
treatment," said a statement from the presidency.

It is said his condition "remains critical and is
at times unstable."

An ambulance with police escort was seen arriving
at his suburban home, north of Johannesburg,
shortly after 0900 GMT.

Officials said Mandela will receive the same
intensive care from his Johannesburg home.

"If there are health conditions that warrant
another admission to hospital in future, this will
be done," the presidency said.

President Jacob Zuma's office said the elderly
statesman has been treated by "a large medical
team from the military, academia, private sector
and other public health spheres."

His release came after the presidency on Saturday
denied reports that Mandela had been discharged
from hospital.

"Madiba is still in hospital in Pretoria, and
remains in a critical but stable condition,"
Zuma's spokesman said in a statement, denying
reports from several news organisations that he
had left the facility.

"At times his condition becomes unstable, but he
responds to medical interventions."

Since his admission, South Africans have been
united in prayer for a speedy recovery of the
country's first back president.

Global leaders and local politicians have also
been sending him messages of support during his
lengthy treatement at a private hospital in the
capital Pretoria.

Mandela has faced several health scares in recent
years and his lung problems date back to his 27
years in apartheid jail.

Madiba, his clan name by which he is lovingly
known in the country, has been in and out of
hospital since last year, with lung related
complications.

"Despite the difficulties imposed by his various
illnesses, he, as always, displays immense grace
and fortitude," according to Zuma's office.

In December, he spent nearly three weeks in
hospital where he was treated for a lung infection
and gall stones.

His latest hospitalisation has been his longest
since he walked free from jail in 1990 and went on
to become the country's first leader to be elected
in all-race elections.

Speculation has arisen often as few details have
been released about his condition, which has been
largely described as "critical but stable" and
updates on his health have been infrequent.

In June, the revered leader was said to be on life
support but has recently been reported to be
breathing on his own.

Family members including his wife Graca Machel and
ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela have been
visiting his bedside since his admission.

Mandela retired from public life in 2004, and has
spent his time between his rural home in the
Eastern Cape region and Johannesburg.

Source - AFP

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