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‘Tutu’s legacy will help heal South Africa’

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Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says the late Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has left a lasting legacy that will help heal the wounds of South Africa.

Tutu passed away on Sunday morning at age 90.

Hill-Lewis has expressed his condolences to the Tutu family.

“I know I speak for the whole city in conveying our deep condolences to Mama Leah, the entire Tutu family, and to his extended family in the global Anglican Church. We mourn the passing of the greatest Capetonian, and one of the last giants of our time.”

“The Arch and Madiba were a formidable pair who together served as South Africa’s moral compass and vocal and critical conscience. Their unforgettable partnership will leave a lasting legacy in helping to heal the wounds of our country. ”

“While we mourn the passing of the Arch, we also celebrate the powerful and uplifting impact that he had on our country, our world, and on all of our lives,” adds Hill-Lewis.

‘Tutu overcame many odds’

Speaking on behalf of the family at a media briefing at the Civic Centre in Cape Town, Academic and businesswoman, Dr Mamphela Ramphele says Tutu overcame many odds.

“He was a man who was not given any chance to survive his childhood because of polio. People thought he didn’t have a chance to survive his youth because of TB. For the latter part of his life, 23 years, he has lived with prostate cancer. In all of that, all you heard from him was that chuckle, that joy, that deep sense of gratitude.”

She has praised the late  Tutu for his steadfastness throughout his life.

‘Legacy of speaking truth to power’

Professor Thuli Madonsela says the late Anglican Archbishop leaves a rich legacy of speaking truth to power about forgiveness, justice, integrity and peace.

She says Tutu wanted to see an equal society that embraces human dignity. Madonsela says he devoted his life to social justice.

“His most concern was always the need for justice. There is a need for us to make sure that corruption ends and does not steal our constitutional dreams. For us to ensure that we forgive each other while pursuing justice. I was also lucky to be one of the people that delivered his 90th birthday –  The Bishop Tutu International Lecture.”

 ‘Few can equal his struggle for democracy’

 The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation says few people can equal Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu’s struggle for democracy.

Tutu is revered for his contributions to the struggle against apartheid, locally and abroad.

He also spoke against racism, injustice, corruption, and oppression wherever it happened throughout the world.

Ahmed Kathrada Foundation’s Neshaan Balton says: “I think there are few who will parallel his contribution towards the fight against Apartheid and the process of reconciliation in this country. Archbishop Tutus championing a non-racial South Africa is work that we all still have to complete in his and many others’ honour who championed those noble ideals and for which we might have fallen short of in many ways today.”

‘A powerful witness for justice’

The South African Council of Churches has called on people to celebrate the life and ministry of late Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu. They described the venerated cleric as a witness for the justice that God demands of all of us.

Messages of condolences have poured in since this morning when his passing was announced by the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation.

General Secretary of the SA Council of Churches Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana says, “We commit to honouring the works and memory of our beloved ‘Arch’, even as we call on all to celebrate the life and ministry of such a powerful witness for the justice that God demands of all of us. May his soul rest in eternal peace.”

-Additional reporting by Tshepo Phagane

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