S African icon Archbishop Desmond Tutu dies at 90
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dpa Johannesburg South Africaâs Archbishop Desmond Tutu, an anti-apartheid icon described as a âchampion of universal human rights,â died on Sunday. He w...
dpa Johannesburg South Africaâs Archbishop Desmond Tutu, an anti-apartheid icon described as a âchampion of universal human rights,â died on Sunday. He was 90.âThe passing of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu is another chapter of bereavement in our nationâs farewell to a generation of outstanding South Africans who have bequeathed us a liberated South Africa,â President Cyril Ramaphosa said in statement.Tutu fought consistently for justice for South Africaâs black population under apartheid, and spoke for peace and reconciliation after the end of the white supremacist regime in the nineties.The Nobel Prize-winner âdistinguished himself as a non-sectarian, inclusive champion of universal human rights,â Ramaphosa said.âThe loss of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu is immeasurable,â said the Nelson Mandela foundation of South Africaâs first black president.âHe was larger than life, and for so many in South Africa and around the world his life has been a blessing.â Known by his nickname the Arch, Tutu was a constant figure at key points in South African history.The Mandela foundation pointed out that âit was Tutu who held aloft Madibaâs hand on the balcony of Cape Townâs City Hall on 9 May 1994 and presented him to the assembled throngs as the countryâs new âout of the boxâ president.â He was later appointed by Mandela as the head of the landmark Truth and Reconciliation Commission.The Anglican archbishop of Cape Town was âone of the great spirits and moral giants of our age,â the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation said.âTutu 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,â the foundation said.According to the foundation, Tutu spent the closing years of his life âincreasingly devoted to prayer and contemplation, in the Milnerton home he and his wife shared.â Tributes flowed in from around the world.In Britain, Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, called Tutu âa prophet and priest, a man of words and action - one who embodied the hope and joy that were the foundations of his life. Even in our profound sorrow we give thanks for a life so well lived. May he rest in peace and rise in glory,â in a tweet.Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell described him as a âgiant,â saying âthe world itself feels a little smaller without him.â âHis expansive vision of how the Christian faith shapes the whole of life has touched many hearts and changed many lives,â he said in a statement.