Former South African president Nelson Mandela dancing at his inauguration ceremony in 1994.

The 93-year-old anti-apartheid leader, who stepped down as president in 1999, has been admitted to hospital for a 'long-standing abdominal complaint', according to the government.

An official statement wished him a speedy recovery but provided no further details.

Mandela, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, announced his retirement from public life eight years ago, to spend more time with his family.

Known to be in increasingly frail health, he spent several days in Johannesbury's Milpark hospital just over a year ago with respiratory problems.

Since then, the former president has not appeared in public - dividing his time beween Johannesburg and his ancestral home of Qunu in the country's impoverished Eastern Cape.

Sunita Rappai, Reuters