Nelson Mandela returns home from hospital

Former South African President Nelson Mandela has returned to his home in Johannesburg after a long stay in hospital in Pretoria.

The 95-year-old was admitted with a recurring lung infection on 8 June.

Last week he was said to be critical but stable and “showing great resilience”, and there has been no official update on him since then.

The country’s first black president, Mr Mandela is revered by many as the father of the nation.

His prolonged hospital stay has caused concern both in South Africa and abroad.

The infection is said to date back to a period of nearly three decades he spent in prison for anti-apartheid activity.

The BBC’s Mike Wooldridge in Johannesburg says it will be a relief for his family and for the nation that Mr Mandela has improved sufficiently for the journey to be made and for him to be cared for at home.

People from South Africa and around the world have sent him their best wishes, and flowers and other tributes have collected outside Pretoria’s MediClinic Heart Hospital.

Throughout Mr Mandela’s stay in hospital, President Jacob Zuma urged the country to pray for him and keep him in their thoughts.

Information on the former president’s state of health usually comes from the South African presidency alone, but there has been no official statement since 24 August.

Source: BBC