20120529
AP
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Former South African President Nelson Mandela is leaving Johannesburg on Tuesday to take up residence in his eastern home village of Qunu, the country's current leader said Monday.

In a statement Monday, President Jacob Zuma said Mandela will stay in Qunu indefinitely.

Mandela "is in good health and we constantly assure him of the love, support and good wishes of millions of South Africans and people around the world," Zuma added.

In February, Mandela was hospitalized for a test to determine the cause of an undisclosed stomach ailment.

Mandela, who turns 94 on July 18, has homes in Johannesburg and Qunu. In recent years, he has spent more and more time in Qunu.

Mandela, a Nobel peace laureate who spent 27 years in prison for fighting racist white rule, has retired from public life. He became South Africa's first black president in 1994 and served one five-year term.