First pictures in nine months show Nelson Mandela, 94, looking thin but sitting up and in ‘good spirits’

Nelson Mandela is 'in good shape' and 'good spirits', South African president Jacob Zuma said today.

He spoke as the first footage emerged of the 94-year-old former president since he left hospital on April 6 after suffering from pneumonia.

He spent 10 days in hospital being treated for the illness, which followed an earlier hospitalisation in December when he developed a lung infection and gallstones.

                               Recovering: Nelson Mandela was said to be in 'good spirits' but appeared expressionless on camera

It is the first public image of him since Hillary Clinton visited in her role as US secretary of state in August.

Mandela - also known as Madiba in South Africa - appears to be virtually expressionless and does not seem to react to those around him.

Nelson Mandela out of hospital after health scare

 Nelson Mandela was discharged from hospital after being treated for pneumonia for more than a week.

The 94-year-old's recovery from the latest in a series of health scares, ending in a tense period during which his TV obituary was broadcast by mistake.

As Mandela was taken in a military ambulance to his home Houghton, an upmarket suburb of Johannesburg, his relatives and friends paid tribute to a "tough guy" whose will to live was undimmed.

Truly a tough guy.

Nelson Mandela

Mandela visited in hospital by family members

Former South –African president Nelson Mandela who is being treated for Pneumonia was visited by members of his family on Monday after doctors had reported an improvement in his condition over the weekend.

A statement from South Africa’s presidency said there was “no significant change” in the condition of the 94-year-old former president, who has been in hospital since late Wednesday suffering from a recurrence of a lung infection.

“Former President Mandela is still in hospital where he is receiving treatment … He spent part of Family Day today with some members of his family,” the statement from President Jacob Zuma’s office said

In South Africa, Easter Monday is a public holiday celebrated as Family Day.In their previous bulletin late on Sunday, the medical team treating Mandela said he had a “restful day” and had shown further improvement after a procedure to drain excess fluid from around his lungs. Doctors had already said he was breathing without difficulty.Mandela’s latest treatment is his third visit to hospital in four months, generating worldwide concern over the health of the revered statesman and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who became South Africa’s first black president in 1994.