Nelson Mandela discharged from hospital
South Africa's former president Nelson Mandela has returned home after spending two nights in hospital. He was discharged on Friday morning, after being treated for an acute respiratory infection.
Issued on:
During a press conference, Surgeon General Vejaynand Ramlakan tried to allay fears about the seriousness of his condition, saying Mandela had received routine health checks.
"He has been discharged," said Ramlakan who leads the team of military doctors assigned to care for the leader.
"Dr Mandela is in high spirits. For a 92-year-old he surprises us on a daily basis with his powers of recovery."
Ramlakan said he would however be subject to intense monitoring by medical specialists at home.
"We enjoy having our grandfather around, this afternoon it came as a joy
that he was to be discharged," said Mandla Mandela, one of Mandela’s grandsons at a press conference in Johannesburg.
Mandela, who became the country's first black president in 1994, spent 27 years in jail on Robben Island where he caught tuberculosis.
Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning
Subscribe