HARARE, Oct. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- The Zimbabwean government has released South African national Reon Schutte, who was serving a 26-year prison term on charges of spying for the then apartheid government, according to the Herald newspaper on Friday.

    Schutte, 43, of Brakpan, South Africa, was freed on medical grounds after the government acceded to a request for clemency from President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa.

    "The first thing that I intend to do when I get home is to sortout my medical problem, I have to undergo an operation and then I will have to go on with life," said Schutte.

    The jovial Schutte, who was clad in a pair of jeans and checked shirt with a gold wristwatch, was released from Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison.

    Since 1989, Schutte had been serving a 26-year jail term for carrying out acts of espionage and sabotage against the African National Congress of South Africa. His parents have since died and he has no wife or children. He only has a sister, who lives in Cape Town, and a brother. Enditem