Desmond Tutu, a South African icon who was loved far and beyond his native land

Dec 26, 2021

They stood hand in hand on the day Nelson Mandela became South Africa’s first democratically elected president, for the pair had changed the nation.

Desmond Tutu was ordained a few months after the Sharpeville massacre when 69 black South Africans were shot and killed in 1960.

It was a turning point for the country – and the man – and he used his position in the church as a platform to advocate and argue for the oppressed.

He campaigned for the release of political prisoners and intervened personally – even physically in numerous violent clashes.

When the black community began to turn on itself, he condemned the violence and the brutal forms of killing deployed.

Archbishop and anti-apartheid veteran dies aged 90

Tutu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 and used the praise and recognition as a vehicle to increase pressure for change at home.

Desmond Tutu: Archbishop and anti-apartheid veteran dies aged 90

Ten years later, he finally got the chance to vote – at the age of 68, he couldn’t contain his joy.

When the newly-elected government decided to investigate the crimes of the apartheid era, Tutu was the obvious choice to lead its Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

But it wasn’t easy, and the Archbishop very publicly broke down.

Midway through the commission, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, but it didn’t slow him down.

The man known as South Africa’s “naughty uncle”, continued to laugh and engage and criticise as well using his democratic rights to castigate domestic politicians, savaging a decision by the ruling African National Congress to refuse the Dalai Lama a visa.

He was praised and celebrated by international celebrities and heads of state – but he still spoke his mind, savaging Zimbabwe’s former dictator, Robert Mugabe and fellow Nobel prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi.

By the time Mandela had passed away, Archbishop Tutu had fallen out with the South African authorities.

His family said he wasn’t invited to Mandela’s funeral – a charge which led to a hasty, last-minute invitation.

The government of then-president Jacob Zuma said it was a misunderstanding.

A few months later, Tutu said he wouldn’t vote for the ruling ANC (African National Congress) because they had failed to help and lift the country’s poor.

He had a knack with people and those who worked with him tended to adore him.

He will be remembered for his energy – his decency and childlike enthusiasm, a South African icon who was loved and appreciated far beyond his native land.

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