Mandela released from hospital

Former South African president Nelson Mandela has been discharged from hospital, says the conutry's presidency.

"Nelson Mandela has this afternoon [on Sunday] returned to his Johannesburg home following a successful medical examination at a Pretoria hospital," spokesperson Mac Maharaj said in a statement on Sunday.

"The doctors have completed the tests... He is well and as before, his health remains under the management of the medical team."

The 94-year-old was admitted to a Pretoria hospital on Saturday for a scheduled check-up and he spent the night there.

Maharaj said the check-up had been to manage existing condition that came at his age.

In December, Mandela underwent an operation to remove gallstones and to treat a recurring lung infection.

He was then placed under home-based high care at his Houghton home.

The presidency said in January that Madiba had made a full recovery from the surgery and continued to improve.

Former president Mandela has a long history of lung problems, dating back to the time when he was a political prisoner on Robben Island during apartheid. He contracted tuberculosis in jail.