JOHANNESBURG - Anti-apartheid leader and former South African President Nelson Mandela was discharged from hospital and returned home on Sunday after being treated for a recurring lung infection, the government said in a statement.

"Madiba's condition remains critical and is at times unstable," the presidency said, referring to the 95-year-old by his clan name.

"His team of doctors are convinced that he will receive the same level of intensive care at his Houghton home that he received in Pretoria," the statement said.