President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa is privileged to be associated with two Nobel Prize Laureates, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and South Africa’s first black President Nelson Mandela.
Speaking at the 8th annual Desmond Tutu International Peace Lecture at the Artscape Theatre Centre in Cape Town, Ramaphosa says Tutu and Mandela played a significant role in forging peace in South Africa.
“Allow me to express my sincere gratitude, and that of all South Africans, to Archbishop Desmond Tutu for a life time that has been spent in the service of peace, understanding and social justice.”
Tutu celebrated his 87th birthday on Sunday.
Ramaphosa says the work that Tutu and Mandela have done for the course of peace should fill South Africans with humility.
“This is work that should fill us with enormous pride as South Africans, not arrogance. It should fill us with great humility, not pomposity, as a nation. As South Africans we are privileged to be associated with those two global icons.”
The President has also acknowledged the annual lecture’s role in encouraging dialogue on issues around peace.
“Since the inception of this lecture, it has served as a platform for robust engagement on the struggle that we must all continue to wage for a more humane and a kind and just world, precisely the values that Archbishop Emeritus Tutu has always stood for.”
Click below to watch the lecture:
