Tanzania's President Jakaya Kikwete on Saturday declared himself cancer-free and in good health as he returned home from the United States after undergoing prostate surgery.

"I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in September 2013, but I am now cured," Kikwete told officials and reporters upon his return to the east African nation.

"Doctors said the cancer did not spread to other parts of my body and declared me cancer-free after the surgery. I am now very happy and confident on my health," he said.

Officials said he underwent surgery in the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.

Kikwete, 64, became Tanzania's fourth president in 2005 and his second and final five-year term is scheduled to end in October 2015.