Mandela back home

Nelson Mandela spent his first night back at his Houghton, Johannesburg, home last night after a nine-day convalescence in a Pretoria hospital.

The 94-year-old statesman, who was admitted to hospital on March 27, arrived home in a military ambulance, escorted by a security detail, shortly before 3pm yesterday.

A large contingent of local and foreign journalists were camped outside during the Nobel peace prize laureate's hospitalisation for pneumonia. Moments after the ambulance drove through the gate, a police protection officer was heard speaking on his radio: "Okay guys he's in, go."

The Presidency said in a statement that there was a "sustained and gradual improvement in his general condition". President Jacob Zuma thanked Mandela's medical team for looking after him "so efficiently". Mandela will now receive ''home-based high care''.

Mandela's granddaughter Ndileka said the family was "very happy" that the former statesman had been discharged from hospital. She said she saw Mandela in hospital on Friday and found him in great spirits.

"We are very happy that our grandparent is discharged," she said.

A person with close ties to the family said: "Everyone forgets that he is a tough old man. But it's still nothing short of a miracle that he's managed to get to a state where his lungs are strong enough to be brought home."

Apart from the bout of pneumonia, for which he underwent a procedure last Saturday to drain fluid from his lungs, there are also concerns about Mandela's heart.

Mandela's latest admission to hospital prompted Zuma to tell South Africans in an interview that it was time to start thinking about Mandela "going home".

His remarks were seen as an indication that the former president's health was worsening.

But yesterday both Zuma's office and Mandela's family expressed happiness about his health.

Zuma visited Mandela on Thursday afternoon and reported that he was "stable and responding well to treatment".

His grandson, Chief Mandla Mandela, had earlier told the Sunday Times Mandela was receiving the best medical care.

There have been concerns from some members of the Mandela family about updates on his condition, but Mandla expressed his gratitude to the Presidency for keeping the public informed.

It is understood that some members of the family felt that the official updates - sometimes twice a day - were unnecessary.

Mandla said these regular updates were necessary because his grandfather was admired by the world.

"Because my grandfather is an international icon, the whole world wants to be updated on his state of health. So, as the family we welcome the regular updates from the Presidency and the assistance we are receiving from the Department of Defence of making sure that our grandfather receives the best medical care.

"They have done a great job so far. We appreciate it as a family," said Mandla.

Following Mandela's 2011 hospital admission, when the government was criticised for not providing information to the public about his health, Zuma's office was given sole responsibility to handle such information.

For updates on his condition, doctors speak only to the Presidency and Mandela's wife, Graça Machel.

Other parties, including the Nelson Mandela Children's Foundation, are informed by Machel or the Presidency.

Mandla, who last saw Mandela two weeks ago, said his grandfather had in the past shared jokes about his hospital stays. Mandela has been in hospital three times since December, when he was admitted for 18 days.

"What kept us going is that we would always find him in good spirit and in a happy mood - like the grandfather we know," Mandla said.

During Mandela's December hospital stay, his visitors had to cover their faces with surgical masks to avoid contaminating his ward. He was discharged on December 26.

Those who have visited Mandela at his Eastern Cape home say at times he forgets the names of his old comrades.

Last year, when Zuma visited him in Qunu after attending a government function in a nearby town, Mandela asked: "Zuma, are these your children?" - referring to a group of government officials accompanying the president.

Mandla expressed his gratitude to the government and thanked South Africans for praying for Mandela's recovery.

"We are very fortunate as the Mandela family and AbaThembu from here in Qunu and Mvezo, at a time when our father is in and out of hospital, to see his people in South Africa and the entire world praying for his health.

"That makes us as the family realise that our old man is loved by the entire world. He is [a] man of the people who dedicated his life to liberating the whole world. He worked for the development of people as a whole.

"So we really appreciate the support we've been receiving ... We hope these prayers would give him strength to recover and return to his family in Qunu," said Mandla.

Machel visited her husband in hospital every day. On Thursday night, when she received a peace award from the Turquoise Harmony Institute in Sandton, Machel thanked the public for their prayers and messages of support.

She told the audience Mandela was "doing fine" and that God was "listening".

Mandela, South Africa's first democratically elected president, withdrew from public life in 2004 when he famously said: "Don't call me, I'll call you."

He has since been seen publicly only on rare occasions, the most noteworthy when he was carted around the pitch at the final of the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

A chief close to the Mandela family in Qunu said they had been told that he was "still recovering" and instructions were that only family may visit him in Houghton.

He said there had been discussions to move Mandela to Qunu when he has "fully recovered", but nothing had been confirmed yet.

He said he was sure they would meet this week to receive a detailed update on his health status and discuss the way forward.

Eastern Cape health department spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said the provincial health team had not been briefed on whether Mandela would return to Qunu.

A specialised ambulance is on stand-by at the Mthatha airport should he need to be transported to Qunu.