Mandela leaves hospital after test procedure

Mr Mandela, 93, underwent minor diagnostic surgery to determine the cause of his pain and stayed overnight in hospital on Saturday.

Officials had not disclosed where he was being treated to protect his privacy.

Government spokesman Mac Maharaj said the Nobel peace laureate had undergone a laparoscopy, a procedure that involves surgeons making an incision in the belly to insert a thin, lighted tube to look at abdominal organs.

“The doctors have decided to send him home as the diagnostic procedure he underwent did not indicate anything seriously wrong with him,” he said.

Earlier in the day, the country’s current president, Jacob Zuma, released a statement saying that Mr Mandela was “surrounded by his family and is relaxed and comfortable.

“The doctors are happy with the progress he is making. We thank all South Africans for their love and support of Madiba.

“We also thank all for affording Madiba and his family privacy and dignity,” said Mr Zuma, referring to Mr Mandela by his clan name.

Mr Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison for fighting racist white rule, became South Africa’s first black president in 1994 and served one five-year term.

He now is officially retired, and last appeared in public in July 2010.