Tutu out of hospital after weeks of care: foundation

Desmond Tutu has been discharged from hospital after more than two weeks of medical care

CAPE TOWN - South African archbishop Desmond Tutu was discharged from hospital on Friday, his foundation said, after more than two weeks of medical care to treat a nagging infection.

Tutu, 83, has been in and out of hospital in recent months, alarming South Africans who view the veteran anti-apartheid activist and critic of the ruling African National Congress party as the country's leading moral authority.

The much-loved Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been battling an infection that his family said was a result of prostate cancer treatment that he has been receiving for nearly 20 years.

In a statement released by the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, his daughter Mpho Tutu said her father -- known affectionately as "the arch" -- expressed his thanks to hospital staff in Cape Town.

"The love, prayers and good wishes expressed by people around the world had been just as important as the medical attention in aiding the arch's recovery," she added.

Earlier this week, Tutu, lying in bed, posed for a photograph with former South African president FW de Klerk, who had paid him a visit in hospital.

Tutu, the former archbishop of Cape Town, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, gaining worldwide prominence for his strong opposition to South Africa's apartheid regime.