Post date: Apr 06, 2013 1:59:41 PM
Former South Africa President Nelson Mandela returns home after 10 days in hospital where he was treated for pneumonia.
PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA (APRIL 6, 2013) (REUTERS) - Former South African president Nelson Mandela, arrived home in Houghton on Saturday (April 6) after spending 10 days in hospital where he was treated for pneumonia.
Mandela was driven home after doctors discharged him from Mediclinic heart Hospital in Pretoria.This is the third health scare in four months for the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who became South Africa's first black president in 1994 and was hailed as a global symbol of tolerance and harmony.
He was in hospital briefly in early March for a check-up and was hospitalised in December for nearly three weeks with a lung infection and after surgery to remove gallstones.
Mandela stepped down as president in 1999 and has not been politically active for a decade. But he is still revered at home and abroad for leading the struggle against apartheid rule and then championing racial reconciliation while in office.
Mandela has a history of lung problems dating back to when he contracted tuberculosis as a political prisoner. He spent 27 years in prison on Robben Island and in other jails for his attempts to overthrow the white-minority government.