President Cyril Ramaphosa has visited the home of late Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu to pay his respects. Tributes are being paid across the globe following Tutu’s death in Cape Town on Sunday at the age of 90.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his role in the struggle to abolish the apartheid system.
Ramaphosa spoke after visiting the Tutu family at their Milnerton home.
“A lot of great things can be said about him. His global status and the love that he is being showered with from across the various countries in the world speaks volumes of what he stood for and what people saw in him as a great leader. So we are enormously diminished by his passing but at the same time we are filled with a celebratory moment and we should use this opportunity to celebrate his life and to try and draw as much as we can with the various good things that he sought to impart to us.”
‘Staunch advocate for social justice’
On Sunday, President Ramaphosa hailed the late Archbishop Tutu as a symbol that embodied the essence of humanity and a staunch advocate for social justice.
The President announced that the country’s flags will be flown at half-mast from the time when the funeral is declared.
“In honour of the life and contribution of Desmond Mpilo Tutu, the government will be led by the Anglican Church in the conduct of his funeral. There will be a period of mourning during which the national flag shall fly at half-mast at all flag stations countrywide and at South African diplomatic missions abroad. This will be observed from the time of the formal declaration of the funeral until the night before the funeral service.”
President @CyrilRamaphosa arrives at the family home of Archbishop Desmond Tutu to pay his respects. Archbishop Tutu, the last surviving South African laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize, passed away in Cape Town at the age of 90. #RIPDesmondTutu pic.twitter.com/38l4xhxkVg
— Presidency | South Africa ?? (@PresidencyZA) December 27, 2021
Lie in state
The St Georges Anglican Church in Cape Town has announced it will honour Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu’s wish to be cremated and his remains to be interred at the Cathedral.
The late Archbishop of Cape Town will lie in state at the Cathedral on Friday from 7 am to 7 pm to allow the public to have an opportunity to pay their last respects.
He will be laid to rest on Saturday.
R.I.P Desmond Tutu | Tributes continue to pour in for the late Archbishop:
‘Very special relationship’
Also speaking outside Archbishop Tutu’s home, former Finance Minister Trevor Manuel says his relationship with Tutu was very special, adding that he felt privileged in the relationship he shared with him.
“It was in many respects a relationship of a parent and a child. We’re a generation apart in age and he supported me when he thought it was good to support me and he berated me when he thought I needed that as well. That made the relationship special, genuine, and honest. And I’m very privileged to have enjoyed that kind of relationship with him.”
Various family members, friends and dignitaries have been visiting the Tutu family on Monday to pay tribute to Tutu.
