Nelson Mandela Going Home

Not getting better, government says

Today's news that the 95-year-old is back at his suburban home in Johannesburg after almost three months in hospital in Pretoria does suggest that his doctors concluded that he is currently strong enough to survive the journey. That's not a decision that would have been taken lightly.

But the statement from South Africa's presidency was very clear: Mr Mandela's "condition remains critical and is at times unstable." In other words, he is simply swapping a hospital intensive care ward for a new intensive care unit specially constructed for him at his home.