South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize winner and anti-apartheid hero, has died at the age of 90, President Cyril Ramafosa has announced.
The president expressed “on behalf of all South Africans, his deepest condolences over the death, this Sunday” of this leading figure in South African history, in a statement.
“The death of the honorary archbishop Desmond Tutu is a new chapter of mourning for our nation's farewell to a generation of outstanding South Africans who have bequeathed us a liberated South Africa,” he said.
“A man of extraordinary intelligence, integrity and invincibility to the forces of apartheid, he was also tender and vulnerable in his compassion for those who suffered oppression, injustice and violence under apartheid and for the oppressed of the whole world,” he added.
Desmond Tutu's health had deteriorated for several months. He no longer made public speeches, but always greeted the cameras, which were present at his every move, smiling or teasing, such as when he was vaccinated against Covid-19 in a hospital, or during his birthday party in October.
