Desmond Tutu, anti-apartheid hero, passes away

South African Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, world icon of the struggle for human rights and Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1984 for his activism against the brutal racist oppression of "apartheid", died Sunday at the age of 90 in Cape Town (southwest).

The news of the death was announced by the South African government earlier in the day and, shortly after, was also confirmed by the Anglican Church of South Africa and by the Desmond & Leah Tutu Foundation (named after his wife).

"The death of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu is another chapter of loss in our nation's farewell to a generation of outstanding South Africans who bequeathed us a liberated South Africa," the country's president, Cyril Ramaphosa, lamented in the government statement.

The South African head of state described him as a "peerless patriot" and praised his integrity and "extraordinary intellect." 

"On behalf of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, the entire faith community and, dare I say, on behalf of millions (of people) across South Africa, Africa and the world, I send our deepest condolences to his wife, Nomalizo Leah, his son, Trevor Tamsanqa, and his daughters, Thandeka, Nontombi and Mpho," said the current Archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba.

South Africa will forever remember Tutu for his characteristic laugh, for acting as a moral compass from the darkest of times and for taking on the thorny task of reconciling the nation after the conquest of democracy (1994), alongside leaders such as Nelson Mandela.

"When the missionaries came to Africa, we had the land and they had the Bible. Then they said: 'Let us pray. And we obediently closed our eyes and when we said 'amen' at the end and opened our eyes, they had the land and we had the Bible. It seems like a bad swap, but we are forever indebted to those men and women," reads one of his best-known quotes. 

Born in 1931 in Klerksdorp, a small town southwest of Johannesburg, Tutu started out as a teacher before studying theology and being ordained a pastor in the Anglican Church in 1960.

In 1975 he was appointed dean of Johannesburg's Anglican Cathedral, the first time a black man had ever held this position, and took up residence in the ghetto district of Soweto, on the same street where Mandela had lived.

There he witnessed one of the most convulsive stages of apartheid, with the student protests of 1976 - in which more than 600 people died, most of them young people - as its greatest exponent.

In 1977 he was appointed bishop of Lesotho and, only a year later, he was appointed general secretary of the South African Council of Churches.

At that time he began to openly express his support for the Black Consciousness movement and intensified his anti-apartheid activism until he became a figure of international resonance.

A life dedicated to the defense of the oppressed

For his tireless struggle and for being "the voice of the voiceless" (as Mandela described him), Tutu received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, two years before becoming the first black pastor in charge of the Anglican Archbishopric of Cape Town (southwest).

Once apartheid was dismantled and South Africa became a democracy, President Mandela entrusted him with the difficult task of heading the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a body charged with bringing to light the atrocities committed during apartheid.

Tutu's career was marked by a constant defense of human rights, something that led him to dissociate himself on numerous occasions from the church hierarchy to openly defend positions such as gay rights or euthanasia.

"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on a mouse's tail and you say you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality," the archbishop used to say.

In the last stage of his life he also often raised his voice against the corruption of the new powers of South African democracy and against global problems such as climate change.

In 1997, just retired as leader of the South African Anglican Church, he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer for which he underwent treatment, but in the years that followed he would suffer several relapses and other medical problems.

Since 2010 he had stayed away from public life due to his advanced age and poor health.

Following the news of his death, numerous world leaders sent messages of condolence and paid tribute to his legacy, from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to the highest Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, also praised his "service" to the Gospel "through the promotion of racial equality and reconciliation" in South Africa.

South Africa and the world pay tribute to the tireless struggle of Desmond Tutu

Numerous personalities from South Africa, the African continent and the entire world paid tribute on Sunday to the tireless struggle and human legacy of South African Archbishop Emeritus and Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu, who died today at the age of 90 in Cape Town (southwest).

The first to publicly pay tribute to Tutu was South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who announced the news of his death early in the morning.

In a statement, Ramaphosa described him as a "peerless patriot" and a "man of extraordinary intellect" who always maintained his integrity in the face of the forces of the racist "apartheid" segregation system. 

"The death of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu is another chapter of loss in our nation's farewell to a generation of outstanding South Africans who bequeathed us a liberated South Africa," the president lamented.

Other personalities, institutions and hundreds of anonymous citizens of the southern nation were also quick to pay tribute to a figure not only much loved, but considered the embodiment of the moral conscience of the country.

Among them was the Nelson Mandela Foundation, which described Tutu's death as an "immeasurable" loss.

Several African leaders, such as the Namibian President, Hage Geingob, or his Kenyan counterpart, Uhuru Kenyatta, also sent messages of condolence and portrayed Tutu as a "hero" and a "symbol of resilience in the face of adversity" and of "optimism" in the face of "hopelessness".

Beyond the continent, numerous personalities and world leaders also remembered Tutu; from Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to France's Emmanuel Macron to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

"He was a mentor, a friend and a moral compass for me and so many others (...) He never lost his mischievous sense of humor or his willingness to find humanity in his adversaries and Michelle and I will miss him," shared former US President Barack Obama on his Twitter account.

For her part, Filipino journalist and also Nobel Peace Laureate Maria Ressa shared on social media one of the Archbishop's most famous quotes: "if you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor".

"He was committed to serving others, especially those who are less fortunate. I am convinced that the best tribute we can pay him is to keep his spirit alive," the highest Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, with whom Tutu shared a friendship, said in a statement.

Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church, also praised his "service" to the Gospel "through the promotion of racial equality and reconciliation" in South Africa. 

Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his struggle against the brutal racist oppression of apartheid in South Africa, Tutu is considered one of the key figures in the contemporary history of southern Africa.

His career was marked by a constant defense of human rights, something that led him to distance himself on numerous occasions from the church hierarchy to openly defend positions such as the rights of homosexuals or euthanasia.

In recent years he kept away from public life due to his advanced age and the health problems he had been suffering from for years, including prostate cancer.