Nelson Mandela discharged from hospital

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - Nelson Mandela was discharged on Sunday from an overnight hospital stay after a diagnostic probe showed nothing "seriously wrong" with the anti-apartheid icon, South Africa's presidency said.

"Former President Nelson Mandela has been discharged from hospital following his admission yesterday, Saturday 25 February," President Jacob Zuma's office said in a statement.

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

Mandela, 93, underwent a diagnostic laparoscopy, a procedure in which doctors probe the abdominal area using a tiny camera.

The beloved national icon has been living in his Johannesburg home where he returned last month from his rural childhood village in the Eastern Cape some 800 kilometres (500 miles) from the country's economic hub.

Shortly before his discharge was announced, Zuma said Mandela, who is known affectionately as Madiba, was relaxed and comfortable after his night's stay in hospital and was surrounded by his family.

"The doctors have assured us that there is nothing to worry about and that Madiba is in good health," Zuma said in an earlier statement.

Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu confirmed the laparoscopy and said it was to investigate ongoing discomfort.

"He's fine, he is recovering from anaesthetic and he is as fine as can be at his age. He is fine and handsome," Sisulu, whose ministry is charged with Mandela's health care, told a press conference in Cape Town.