Nelson Mandela is still in hospital

Reports that Nelson Mandela has been discharged from hospital are incorrect, South Africa’s presidency says.

News outlets earlier quoted sources close to the former South African president as saying he had returned home.

The presidency said in a statement that Nelson Mandela was critical but stable, but at times his condition became unstable, prompting medical intervention.

Nelson Mandela, 95, was admitted with a recurring lung infection on June 8.

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

His prolonged hospital stay – by far the longest since he was released from prison in 1990 – has caused concern both in South Africa and abroad.

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 Nelson Mandela’s release.

The confusion could have arisen out of a possible move soon to get Nelson Mandela home, which would clearly depend on his health at the time.

The infection Nelson Mandela 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 Nelson Mandela’s stay in hospital, President Jacob Zuma has urged the country to pray for him and keep him in their thoughts.