President Cyril Ramaphosa paid tribute to Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu who passed away on Sunday, aged 90. Read his full speech.
Today is the saddest of days.
Our nation and the world awoke this morning to the sad news that Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu passed away peacefully in Cape Town at the age of 90.
In this season of cheer and goodwill, at a time when many people are celebrating with family and friends, we have lost one of the most courageous and beloved among us.
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu was one of our nation’s finest patriots.
He was a man of unwavering courage, of principled conviction, and whose life was spent in the service of others. He embodied the essence of our humanity.
Knowing he had been ill for some time has done little to lessen the blow dealt to South Africa this sad day. Uwile umthi omkhulu.
We have lost a person who carried the burden of leadership with compassion, with dignity, with humility and with such good humour.
Pretoria – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the entire Olympic movement has joined South Africans and people across the world in mourning the death of Archbishop and Peace Noble Laureate Desmond Tutu.
IOC president Thomas Bach said Tutu was a passionate lover of sports, and understood sport’s contribution to peace.
“I got to know Desmond Tutu in 1996 as passionate lover of the Olympic Games and sports. He always emphasized the power of sports to bring people together. In all the meetings I had with him he was always appreciating the great contribution of the Olympic Games to the peace and understanding. It was his fervent wish that he could still see the Olympic Games being celebrated in his beloved South Africa,” he said.
“Tutu was one of the leaders of the candidature of Cape Town for the Olympic Games 2004. He attended numerous editions of the Olympic Games and, as a lover of sport, many sports events in South Africa and across the world.”
Read the full story here.
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The Arch never hesitated to express his critical voice - Parliament’s Presiding Officers
Cape Town - National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and National Council of Provinces Chairperson Amos Masondo say the late Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu unapologetically spoke the truth to power no matter the circumstances.
This is according to Parliament officials.
In a joint statement, Mapisa-Nqakula and Masondo paid tribute to the immense contribution Tutu made to the struggle against apartheid and the creation of the new democratic dispensation.
They said the nation has not only lost a true advocate and a gallant fighter of liberation and democracy, but it has lost a father and the quintessence of love, peace and hope.
Read the full story here.
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WATCH: Vilakazi Street pays homage to #DesmondTutu
Soweto – Archbishop Desmond Tutu's home in Orlando West, Soweto was a hive of activity on Sunday afternoon, as members of the public came to pay their respect to the late icon.
Tutu, who passed away in Cape Town at the age of 90, was a force to be reckoned with both politically and religiously.
Some of the work he was respected for includes his participation in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission held in the 90s, where victims of Apartheid shared gruesome testimony about the brutal attacks they had endured at the hands of security forces.
Tutu’s neighbour Paula Majola sweeps outside his home in Orlando West, Soweto.
One of the local residents who shared fond memories of Tutu and his family was his neighbour and guest house owner, Paula Majola.
Majola says she inherited the house across the street from her grandparents, who moved into the area in 1934.
Read full story here.
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Wendyl Martin reflects on Tutu’s hell jibe for serving a hearty breakfast on a Friday morning
“I am going to buy you a ventilator to use in hell,” Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu quips at me one Friday after mass.
I had just tucked into a plate of bacon and eggs at the café on the ground floor of Newspaper House in Cape Town.
As an Anglican priest, the Arch believed and preached that Fridays were for fasting, not hearty breakfasts. I looked away in shame, with little to say in response as Father held my shoulders and joked about my poor fasting and faith habits.
Fridays for the Arch began with presiding over mass at St George’s Cathedral. Promptly at 7.15am, Father was robed and ready to conduct the prayers of An Anglican Prayer Book 1989, gently place a wafer in each worshipper’s hand, to welcome people who had often come from far away to the Friday flock and to kuier after at the café. These are the markings of a pastor and a shepherd.
Read the full story here.
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Tutu was a larger than life figure who was a blessing to many in SA and the world – Nelson Mandela Foundation
Pretoria – The Nelson Mandela Foundation has expressed sadness over the passing of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu, describing him as larger than life, whose life was a blessing for so many in South Africa and around the world.
The Foundation said Tutu was a thinker, a leader, and a shepherd.
“Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this most difficult time. The Arch meant everything to me,” said the foundation chief executive Sello Hatang.
“I first met him during the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and was privileged to work with him on a number of projects over the years. He was a friend to Madiba and to the Foundation.”
Read the full story here.
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Anant Singh reflects on 30 years of friendship, intimate details with Archbishop Tutu
Cape Town – Pre-eminent South African film producer Anant Singh cherishes 30 years of friendship with the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his family.
Singh, the recipient of South Africa’s first Academy Award Nomination and who has produced more than 80 films since 1984 - notably for anti-apartheid films like Sarafina! and Cry, the Beloved Country - shares intimate details on his relationship with the Archbishop Tutu.
“My family and I loved spending time with him. We had a standing joke that he should not be in a hurry as he had a ’first-class ticket to heaven’ and we needed him with us longer,” Singh writes.
“We are privileged to have had him as a very special friend, and were fortunate to have visited him at his home a few months ago and he was in good spirits,” he adds.
Singh goes on to reveal how the “Arch” was always supportive of his work, and how he always listened to the archbishop’s invaluable advice. He recalls how fortunate he was to have Tutu as his guest of honour 21 years ago at a special preview of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)-themed film, Red Dust.
By P. Pratap Kumar
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu has died at the age of 90.
Archbishop Tutu earned the respect and love of millions of South Africans and the world. He carved out a permanent place in their hearts and minds, becoming known affectionately as “The Arch”.
When South Africans woke up on the morning of 7 April, 2017 to protest against then President Jacob Zuma’s removal of the respected Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, Archbishop Tutu left his Hermanus retirement home to join the protests. He was 86 years old at the time, and his health was frail. But protest was in his blood. In his view, no government was legitimate unless it represented all its people well.
There was still that sharpness in his words when he said that
We will pray for the downfall of a government that misrepresents us.
Desmond Mpilo Tutu, who died on 26 December at the age of 90, was the most visible face of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa and abroad during the turbulent 1980s. By the time of his death he had become one of the world’s most beloved figures, noted for his warmth, joviality and preternatural ability to charm and openly engage almost everyone he met.
Born on 7 October 1931 in the mining town of Klerksdorp, he took a long and indirect path to becoming the man who in 1984 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his vocal opposition to apartheid.
The son of a Xhosa teacher, Zachariah Zelilo Tutu, and a Motswana domestic worker, Aletta Dorothea Mathlare, Tutu was marked by ill health in early life. He contracted polio as a child, which resulted in the atrophy of his right hand, an affliction that he carried with him for the rest of his life.
Tutu’s father would sometimes drink excessively and beat his mother. In spite of this Zachariah managed to provide enough for his family to ensure that while they were poor, they were “not destitute either.”
Read the full story here.
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African and world leaders react to Tutu’s death
Cape Town – Following the the death of anti-Apartheid and human rights activist Archbishop Desmond Tutu on Sunday in Cape Town, tributes continue to pour in for the global icon.
His holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, who was a close friend of Tutu penned a letter to the Archbishop’s daughter, Rev. Mpho Tutu.
“Please accept my heartfelt condolences,” he wrote, “and convey the same to your mother and other members of your family. I pray for him.
“As you know, over the years, your father and I enjoyed an enduring friendship. I remember the many occasions we spent time together, including the week here at Dharamsala in 2015 when we were able to share our thoughts on how to increase peace and joy in the world. The friendship and the spiritual bond between us was something we cherished.
“Archbishop Desmond Tutu was entirely dedicated to serving his brothers and sisters for the greater common good. He was a true humanitarian and a committed advocate of human rights. His work for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was an inspiration for others around the world,” said a statement.
Read the full story here.
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WATCH: Table Mountain and City Hall to be lit purple in honour of Desmond Tutu
Cape Town - Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis announced on Sunday that the City of Cape Town will light up Table Mountain and City Hall in purple in memory of the late Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu.
Hill-Lewis said that starting from 8pm on Sunday night and every night this week, the City of Cape Town will light up Table Mountain and City Hall in purple - the colour that is so synonymous with the Arch.
“As our city mourns the passing of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Arch, we also want to celebrate the man who dedicated his life to making our country a more just, humane and peaceful place for all.
“As people here and around the world see Cape Town’s famous mountain lit up in purple, we hope it helps to remember and honour Cape Town’s greatest resident and all that he stood for,” Hill-Lewis said.
Read full story here.
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Tutu took love to its limits
Archbishop Desmond Tutu will be remembered as an architect of South African democracy, despite being neither a party negotiator nor an author of the post-apartheid constitution. His conviction that reconciliation should be the cornerstone of South African liberation, a conviction shared by Nelson Mandela, helped define the foundational compromise of the transition.
But he was not the pliant supplier of absolution that the now-naked shortcomings of that negotiated settlement may imply. The jettisoning of fundamental economic justice as a feature of the democratic era was a betrayal beyond his remit – Tutu dealt in symbols and hopes, not shares and wages.
He did not shape the incrementalist substance of the liberal-capitalist bargain struck between the African National Congress and the National Party regime; he simply pushed for any trade-off capable of delivering the precious dignity of electoral democracy and the urgent relief of peace.
Read the full story here.
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He was our confidant, says #Africa4Palestine of Tutu
Pretoria – Human rights organiSation #Africa4Palestine on Sunday joined “fellow South Africans, Africans and peace-loving people across the world” in mourning the death of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu.
#Africa4Palestine described Tutu as “a dear friend of the Palestinian people”.
“Archbishop Tutu was a close confidant of #Africa4Palestine – someone whom we consulted with, asked for advice and sought support from. Tutu was an ally of all oppressed peoples across the globe, and specifically of the Palestinian people in their struggle against Israeli apartheid,” said #Africa4Palestine spokesperson, Tisetso Magama.
Read the full story here.
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In his own words: Desmond Tutu’s TRC address
It is a very great privilege to have been asked to chair such a distinguished group of eminent persons with a proven track record and outstanding professional ability. I thank God that I have been asked to captain such a brilliant team.
I want to express deep appreciation to Dr Alex Boraine for all the very hard work he has put in to get us going. He has been involved from the onset, assisting the Department of Justice in drafting the legislation which has brought the Commission into being.
He has worked like a Trojan, as all of you will know, in making arrangements for this first meeting. He is a gifted organiser. A perceptive journalist has remarked that perhaps the Archbishop will be like a President whilst Dr Boraine will be something like a Prime Minister. That would not be too far off the mark.
Read the full story here.
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South African political parties and leaders mourn Desmond Tutu's passing
Durban – Tributes and words of condolences continue to pour in following the passing away of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, aged 90, on Sunday morning, South African leaders and political parties have also joined the world in mourning the global icon.
Mourning the death of Tutu, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the founder of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), said Tutu had served the country well.
"Archbishop Tutu served his country with the utmost commitment. He was a man of faith and strong convictions who sought freedom for the oppressed. His contribution to the liberation struggle will forever be honoured in the telling of history and his pursuit of reconciliation between black and white will stand as his life’s testimony," he said in a statement.
Read the full story here.
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In his own words: Nelson Mandela on Desmond Tutu
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is a true privilege and honour for me to share in this thanksgiving service for the Archbishop of Cape Town and the Primate of the Church of The Province of Southern Africa, retires in one week's time, just ahead of his 65th birthday. I suspect that he is doing so just to set the record by retiring before I do!
ARCHBISHOP TUTU'S CONTRIBUTIONS
I know that I speak for all of you, when I say that Archbishop Desmond Tutu has been a blessing and inspiration to countless people, here and abroad, through his ministry; his acts of compassion; his prophetic witness; and his political engagement.
He has a distinguished record as a leader of his Church and the ecumenical movement, and as a fearless fighter against the evil and inhuman system of apartheid.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Before I left South Africa, a land I love passionately, we had an emergency meeting of the Executive Committee of the South African Council of Churches with the leaders of our member churches.
We called the meeting because of the deepening crisis in our land, which has claimed nearly 200 lives this year alone. We visited some of the trouble-spots on the Witwatersrand. I went with others to the East Rand. We visited the home of an old lady. She told us that she looked after her grandson and the children of neighbours while their parents were at work.
One day the police chased some pupils who had been boycotting classes, but they disappeared between the township houses. The police drove down the old lady’s street. She was sitting at the back of the house in her kitchen, whilst her charges were playing in the front of the house in the yard. Her daughter rushed into the house, calling out to her to come quickly. The old lady dashed out of the kitchen into the living room.
Her grandson had fallen just inside the door, dead. He had been shot in the back by the police. He was 6 years old. A few weeks later, a white mother, trying to register her black servant for work, drove through a black township. Black rioters stoned her car and killed her baby of a few months old, the first white casualty of the current unrest in South Africa. Such deaths are two too many.
Read the full story here.
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MUST READ: Apartheid testimony that caused Desmond Tutu to cry at TRC hearings
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, lovingly known as “The Arch” had always been able to pull at the heartstrings of the world.
But, it was during his time as chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that the world got to see The Arch break down in tears while hearing the atrocities of apartheid.
It was a moment that no South African interested in the hearings would forget as this small statured, giant of a man put his head on his desk and sobbed.
His actions triggered tears throughout the room with journalists also wiping away tears as they jotted down notes.
It was reported that outside the room when the commission adjourned in East London’s city hall, Tutu told journalists, “I thought I was tough.”
Read the full story here.
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The big baobab has fallen: ANC mourns Archbishop Tutu
The ANC has joined South Africans and the global community in mourning the “sad passing” of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu.
ANC national spokesperson Pule Mabe said Tutu was a reminder of how religious leaders were instrumental in bringing down apartheid.
“The Arch was not only an extraordinary human being, he also served as a reminder of the role that he and many other religious leaders played in bringing apartheid to its knees and restoring the dignity of all South Africans,” said Mabe.
Read the full story here.
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Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu ‘had the heart of a lion’
Cape Town – Acting chairperson of the Archbishop Tutu IP Trust, Dr Mamphela Ramphele, says the late Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu lived the core values of ubuntu.
A man who was loved for his compassionate spirit, warm smile and contagious laugh, Ramphele told those gathered at a press briefing held in the Cape Town civic centre that the clergy never allowed circumstances to put a dampener on his love for people around him.
“He was a man who was not given any chance to survive his childhood, because of polio. He didn’t have a chance, people thought, to survive his youth because of tuberculosis.
“And the latter part of his life, for 23 years, he lived with prostate cancer. In all of that, all you heard from him was that chuckle – that joy – that deep sense of gratitude. As we mourn the passing of this great man, we would like South Africa and the world to focus on the teaching moments of this man’s life.”
Read the full story here.
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Late Archbishop Desmond Tutu – anti-apartheid hero who never stopped fighting for the “Rainbow Nation”
Cape Town – Beloved Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, aged 90, passed away in Cape Town on Sunday.
“Like falling in love” is how Archbishop Desmond Tutu described voting in South Africa’s first democratic election in 1994, a remark that captured both his puckish humour and his profound emotions after decades fighting apartheid.
Desmond Mpilo Tutu, the Nobel Peace laureate whose moral might permeated South African society during apartheid’s darkest hours and into the unchartered territory of new democracy, died on Sunday. He was 90.
The outspoken Tutu was considered the nation’s conscience by both black and white, an enduring testament to his faith and spirit of reconciliation in a divided nation.
Read the full story here.
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DID you know that a verse in the hit 80’s reggae song ’Gimme Hope Jo'anna’ pays tribute to Archbishop Desmond Tutu?
Guyanese-British singer and songwriter, Edmond Montague Grant more commonly known as Eddie Grant, penned the well-known anti-Apartheid reggae anthem in the late 1980s at the height of South Africa’s fight for liberation against the Apartheid government.
The song was banned by the South African government when it was released in 1988, but was widely played in South Africa nonetheless.
Read here
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Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis announced on Sunday that the City of Cape Town will light up Table Mountain and City Hall in purple in memory of the late Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu.
Hill-Lewis said that starting from 8pm on Sunday night and every night this week, the City of Cape Town will light up Table Mountain and City Hall in purple - the colour that is so synonymous with the Arch.
More here
Following the the death of anti-Apartheid and human rights activist Archbishop Desmond Tutu on Sunday in Cape Town, tributes continue to pour in for the global icon.
His holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, who was a close friend of Tutu penned a letter to the Archbishop’s daughter, Rev. Mpho Tutu.
“Please accept my heartfelt condolences,” he wrote, “and convey the same to your mother and other members of your family. I pray for him.
“As you know, over the years, your father and I enjoyed an enduring friendship. I remember the many occasions we spent time together, including the week here at Dharamsala in 2015 when we were able to share our thoughts on how to increase peace and joy in the world. The friendship and the spiritual bond between us was something we cherished.
“Archbishop Desmond Tutu was entirely dedicated to serving his brothers and sisters for the greater common good. He was a true humanitarian and a committed advocate of human rights. His work for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was an inspiration for others around the world,” said a statement.
More here
A heartbroken Brent and Magnola Goliath paid their respects to the arch, but were not keen on participating in interviews. PICTURE: Tarryn-Leigh Solomons
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Bishop Stephen Moreo, Anglican Bishop Johannesburg issues a statement outside the home of the late Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu along Vilakazi Street, in Soweto. Moreo gave a tribute on Tutu on behalf of the Anglican Church.
Video: Noni Mokati
THE ANC has joined South Africans and the global community in mourning the “sad passing” of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu.
Tutu, who was also South Africa's last surviving Nobel-Peace Prize laureate, passed away on Sunday in Cape Town at the age of 90.
Read the story here
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Acting chairperson of the Archbishop Tutu IP Trust, Dr Mamphela Ramphele, says the late Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu lived the core values of ubuntu.
South Africa, and the world as a whole, woke up to the sad news that Tutu passed away in Cape Town on Sunday.
A man who was loved for his compassionate spirit, warm smile and contagious laugh, Ramphele told those gathered at a press briefing held in the Cape Town civic centre that the clergy never allowed circumstances to put a dampener on his love for people around him.
Read the story here
Acting chairperson of the Archbishop Tutu IP Trust, Dr Mamphela Ramphele, said the late Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu was saddened that South Africa was not healed. At a press conference in Cape Town on Sunday morning, she paid tribute to the world-renowned peace icon. Video: Tarryn-Leigh Solomons.
What I learned photographing the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu
My earliest memories of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu are from newspaper clippings and video recordings of foreign news bulletins smuggled into South Africa by dissenters to evade censorship.
As an activist allied to the African National Congress, the archbishop was banned from the heavily policed media of the white minority government.
In the smuggled tapes, I would see the archbishop looking regal in his mauve robes praying at the funerals of activists and protesters killed by apartheid police, or pleading with people to end the violence.
As a young woman during this tumultuous time in my country, I saw him as a man of God fighting for our freedom, a man pleading with the world to end apartheid, an elder we hoped could one day help restore peace – even if we weren't always that confident it would ever happen.
Read the full story here.
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Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu’s legacy will live on - Ryland Fisher
There is a certain irony in Archbishop Desmond Tutu choosing his last day on earth to be 26 December 2021 – the Day of Goodwill in South Africa and a day after the world celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ.
I use the word “choosing” because I know that, over the past few months, he had basically prepared his family and everyone around him for his final day. Everyone knew he would be going soon; it was only a matter of when. The cancer which he had been battling for many years was eating away at his body and it must have been sad for his family to see someone who was so strong being so weak in his final days.
Irony has always been a strong part of Desmond Tutu’s life. Even during the days of apartheid, while he was in the forefront of the struggle, there were some young comrades, including myself, who felt that he might have been too soft on the proponents of apartheid. There were many others, including conservatives in the church, who felt that he was too outspoken against apartheid.
Read the full story here.
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Desmond Tutu stood for all that was the best of us as a nation: SA Rugby pays tribute to The Arch
SA Rugby joined the global chorus of tributes being paid to Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, who has passed away at the age of 90 on Sunday.
The Nobel laureate was a much-loved and admired campaigner on numerous causes throughout his life – most notably in the struggle against apartheid – who went on to become a powerful voice for reconciliation in post-apartheid South Africa.
Tutu – familiarly known as “the Arch” – coined the phrase “Rainbow Nation” to describe SA’s diversity and remained an outspoken watchdog against social injustice from wherever it emanated.
“We have lost another giant and our country is immensely the poorer for it,” said Mark Alexander, president of the SA Rugby Union.
Read the full story here.
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Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, South Africa’s moral compass
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, who died Sunday at the age of 90, was the moral compass of his beloved “Rainbow Nation”… He was never afraid to speak truth to power, whatever its creed or colour.
A tireless activist, he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his relentless protesting of white minority rule in his country.
“The passing of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu is another chapter of bereavement in our nation’s farewell to a generation of outstanding South Africans, who have bequeathed us a liberated South Africa,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement.
Read the full story here.
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Remembering Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu: 10 quotes and images of his life
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu, who was a Nobel Peace Laureate and played a key role-player in the fight against apartheid in South Africa, passed away on Sunday, aged 90.
The Arch, as he was fondly known, has been remembered and his legacy celebrated by many, as they reflect on his life.
In memory of Desmond Tutu’s legacy, we’ve compiled 10 pictures and quotes to celebrate the beloved icon.
Read the full story here.
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‘The world has lost a giant’ – tributes stream in for Desmond Tutu
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu passed away in Cape Town, aged 90, on Sunday.
In recent years he was hospitalised on several occasions to treat infections associated with his treatment for prostate cancer.
Tributes continue to pour in for the beloved human rights activist, who famously broke down in tears during South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings, which distressing personal experiences of death and torture under the previous apartheid regime were recounted in the mid-nineties.
Ugandan politician and opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu also known as “Bobi Wine”, said the news of the passing of Archbishop Desmond Tutu was very sad.
“A giant has fallen. We thank God for his life a purposeful life, truly lived in the service of humanity. May his soul rest in peace. Condolences to all people world-over who were touched by his life and ministry.”
Read the full story here.
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Brave leader, a mischievous delight, a profound thinker and a dear friend- Tributes pour in for The Arch
Tributes from across the globe have been pouring in for Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu who died on Sunday morning in Cape Town.
He was 90 years old.
Among them is Richard Branson who wrote: “I’m so sad that Archbishop Tutu has passed away – the world has lost a giant. He was a brave leader, a mischievous delight, a profound thinker, and a dear friend.”
Read the full story here.
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The day ‘Gafant’ was born on the day of The Arch’s 78th birthday
Being appointed editor of the fine institution that is the Cape Argus is a big deal. Especially for one aged 31. I realised just how big it was when Pick ’n Pay founder Raymond Ackerman sent me a personal letter of congratulations in 2009 and the Mayor of Cape Town sent me a text with well wishes.
A few months into the tenure though I realised just how big this role was. It was October 7, 2009, to be exact and I was fortunate to spend his 78th birthday with a global icon. I was to speak at an event where our dear Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu would be launching a children’s book called God’s Children. The Cape Argus had partnered with the Arch for the launch and had pledged to purchase 100 copies to donate to children.
It proved to be an awkward moment – not least because of my choice of suit for the day. Apart from being ill-fitting, it was an in-between colour; neither blue nor green.
Read the full story here.
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The ‘opstoker’ apartheid couldn’t contain, Patricia de Lille remembers Archbishop Desmond Tutu
The apartheid regime knew what to do with people it regarded as “opstokers” (instigators). It bristled with the weaponry to subdue them. Intimidation, banning, banishment, arrest, assault, torture, imprisonment and murder, among them. Together with the cold-heartedness to use them without hesitation.
But in Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu, it encountered an “opstoker” it couldn’t contain. They couldn’t contain him because despite the brutal imposition of a rigid racial hierarchy, which should have kept him in his place, he lived his life at a higher level of humanity than they did.
Read the full story here.
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Key dates in the life of South African cleric and activist Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu passed away in Cape Town on Sunday, aged 90.
Here is a timeline of key dates in Desmond Tutu's life.
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Proteas and India pay tribute to anti-apartheid icon Desmond Tutu in first Test
India won the toss and decided to bat in the first Test against South Africa at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Sunday.
The South Africa team wore black armbands in honour of anti-apartheid icon Desmond Tutu, described as the country's moral compass, who died on Sunday aged 90.
Both teams also held a minute's silence.
Read the full story here.
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Desmond Tutu: We mourn the passing of the greatest Capetonian, says Cape Town mayor
City of Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has said that it is with great sadness that we bid farewell to the beloved Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, a man whose life was a living blessing to us all.
“The passing of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu is another chapter of bereavement in our nation’s farewell to a generation of outstanding South Africans, who have bequeathed us a liberated South Africa,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement.
“Desmond Tutu was a patriot without equal; a leader of principle and pragmatism, who gave meaning to the biblical insight that faith without works is dead.”
Read the full story here.
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‘SA and the world have lost one of the great spirits and moral giants of our age,’ says Tutu Legacy Foundation
The Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation said South Africa and the world have lost one of the great spirits and moral giants of our age.
According to a statement issued by the foundation, Tutu was a living embodiment of faith in action, speaking boldly against racism, injustice, corruption, and oppression, not just in apartheid South Africa but wherever in the world he saw wrongdoing, especially when it impacted the most vulnerable and voiceless in society.
“While Tutu was first and always an Anglican priest who made no secret of his deep dependence on the inner life of disciplined prayer, his faith burst the confines of denomination and religion, joyfully embracing all who shared his passion for justice and love. People of all faiths and no faith together christened him fondly as simply ‘The Arch’,” said the foundation’s chairperson Niclas Kjellström-Matseke.
Read the full story here.
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WATCH: May Desmond Tutu rest in peace and rise in glory, says Archbishop Thabo Makgoba
The Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, Rev Dr Thabo Makgoba has said that while we mourn the passing of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, we must also celebrate his life.
Makgoba made the remarks after the news of the death of the 1984 Nobel Peace laureate, Desmond Mpilo Tutu, 90, broke on Sunday morning.
“On behalf of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, the whole faith community, and – I make bold to say – on behalf of millions across South Africa, Africa and the world, I extend our deepest condolences to his wife, Nomalizo Leah, to his son, Trevor Tamsanqa, and to his daughters, Thandeka, Nontombi and Mpho, and all of their families.
“While we mourn his passing, as Christians and people of faith we must also celebrate the life of a deeply spiritual person whose alpha and omega – his starting point and his ending point – was his relationship with our Creator,” said Makgoba.
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu passed away in Cape Town, aged 90, on Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said.
“The passing of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu is another chapter of bereavement in our nation’s farewell to a generation of outstanding South Africans, who have bequeathed us a liberated South Africa,” Ramaphosa said in a statement.
“Desmond Tutu was a patriot without equal; a leader of principle and pragmatism, who gave meaning to the biblical insight that faith without works is dead.”
Read the full story here.
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