( CNN ) -- Former South African President Nelson Mandela , at home after a long hospital stay , is alert and playing with his grandchildren , his granddaughter Zaziwe Manaway told CNN exclusively Friday . Mandela , 94 , is aware of social media rumors that he 's close to death , Manaway said . Read more : Nelson Mandela discharged from the hospital . `` That is absolutely not true . My grandfather is well , '' she said . `` It can be very , very hurtful for us to hear these messages out there in the social media that our grandfather is going to go home to die . It is insensitive . '' Mandela is revered in his country , CNN 's Robyn Curnow writes , because he reminds South Africans of how far they have come . The former president embodies the South Africa that was promised in the election of 1994 , and many South Africans worry that their country no longer reflects the democratic ideals Mandela spent his life advocating . Fast facts about Mandela . Manaway said she wants to appeal to people spreading rumors to stop , and to be more sensitive to the family and to Mandela , a global icon of peace and South Africa 's defeat of apartheid . `` My grandfather still wakes up in the morning ( and ) reads the newspaper , '' the 35-year-old said . `` So he is also aware of what is being said around him . '' Mandela was treated for an acute respiratory infection in 2011 . He was hospitalized for a lung infection on December 8 , and on December 15 , he underwent surgery for removal of gallstones . Because Mandela is in his 90s , it 's understandable that `` once in a while , he needs medical care and medical attention , '' another granddaughter , 33-year-old Swati Dlamini , told CNN . `` And we 're very grateful he 's surrounded by the best medical team . He 's very well taken care of , and he 's very comfortable , and he 's very happy . '' On Wednesday , a spokesman for South African President Jacob Zuma told media that Mandela had been discharged from the hospital and would continue receiving treatment at his home in Houghton . He 's received well wishes from around the globe , his granddaughters said . `` We 'd just like to thank the whole world for sending us messages and keeping us in their prayers , '' Manaway said . `` We know that people worry and we know that people are concerned , '' Dlamini said . `` But , you know , we 'd just like people to know that he 's doing very well and he 's in good spirits and he 's very cheerful . '' Mandela has not made a public appearance since the 2010 World Cup hosted in his country . In 2011 , South Africans got a rare glimpse of him when he voted in local municipal elections at his home in Johannesburg . Mandela 's life in pictures . There 's been secrecy surrounding his health . `` He has every right to his privacy , '' Dlamini said . `` As the family , we call on people and urge people to give us the privacy to deal with whatever we 're going through as a family in private . '' `` I think people need to remember that my grandfather played a huge role -- and not only him , many other South Africans played a huge role -- to get us where we are now , '' she added . `` My grandfather said this when he was resigning from public life -- it is now ( up ) to South Africans to take this country forward , that a legacy like his should be carried by as many people as possible . '' Dlamini said she is telling her children about their great-grandfather 's life . He was the president from 1994 to 1999 , making him the first president chosen in a democratic election and the country 's first black president . In his younger years , he fought against apartheid and was sentenced to life in prison for his activism . He spent 27 years behind bars and was released in 1990 . Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 . `` He 's always dedicated his life to the struggle , '' Dlamini said . `` For our children to be able to spend time with him now ... they can sit on his lap and hear stories from him . It 's great ; something we did n't have growing up . '' On Mandela 's birthday in July this year , former U.S. President Bill Clinton reflected on the conversations the two have had . Mandela kept his wife and daughter in mind , Clinton said . `` He did n't call me a single time , not once , when he did n't ask about Hillary ( Clinton ) and Chelsea , '' Clinton said of their conversations during the time both were in office . `` If it was n't too late , he 'd ask me to go get Chelsea , bring her to the phone , ask about her homework . '' Clinton said the anti-apartheid icon never lost touch with his humanity . `` I saw in him something that I try not to lose in myself , which is no matter how much responsibility you have , '' Clinton said , `` he remembered you were a person first . '' Read more : South Africa launches banknotes with Mandela image . CNN 's Kim Norgaard contributed to this report .
Nelson Mandela is doing well at home , his granddaughters tell CNN . They say Mandela is aware of rumors on social media that he is close to death . He and his family want the rumors to stop .