Nelson Mandela Released From Hospital But Remains "Critical and is at Times Unstable".

Former South African president Nelson Mandela has been discharged from hospital in Pretoria where he has been treated for months.

"Madiba's condition remains critical and is at times unstable," the presidency said, referring to the 95-year-old by his clan name.

Mr Mandela was admitted on June 8 with a recurring lung infection and had previously been in a critical but stable condition, according to the office of President Jacob Zuma.

The government statement added: "His home has been reconfigured to allow him to receive intensive care there.

Mr Mandela "effectively has a hospital ward" in his house where doctors will be able to monitor him around the clock.


BBC reports that the confirmation of Mr Mandela's release is false 'incorrect'. Read full report under:

BBC: The BBC's Mike Wooldridge in Johannesburg says the family has long hoped that he would improve sufficiently at least to enable him to make the journey home in the Johannesburg suburb of Houghton and be treated there.

But one of the sources quoted by international media has now spoken of being misinformed about Mr Mandela's release.

The confusion could have arisen out of a possible move soon to get the former president home, which would clearly depend on his health at the time, our correspondent says.

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

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 has urged the country to pray for him and keep him in their thoughts.

The ailing hero spent nearly three decades in prison before being released and being elected South Africa's first black president in multi-racial elections in 1994 that ended apartheid rule.