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Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu, 90, has died in Cape Town, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced in a statement on Sunday.
Alongside late Nelson Mandela, Tutu was one of the most important voices against the old system of white minority rule known as apartheid. The Anglican cleric also headed the country’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the post-apartheid era, and was seen by many as the conscience of the troubled nation.
Tutu “died peacefully at the Oasis Frail Care Center in Cape Town this morning,” said Ramphela Mamphele, the acting chairperson of the Archbishop Desmond Tutu IP Trust and coordinator of his office. The statement, issued on behalf of Tutu’s family, did not provide details on the cause of death.
“Desmond Tutu was a patriot without equal; a leader of principle and pragmatism,” Ramaphosa said in a statement.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation said, “His contributions to struggles against injustice, locally and globally, are matched only by the depth of his thinking about the making of liberatory futures for human societies. He was an extraordinary human being.”
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden said they were “heartbroken” to hear that Tutu had died.
“His courage and moral clarity helped inspire our commitment to change American policy toward the repressive Apartheid regime in South Africa,” the Bidens said in a statement released by the White House.
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said, “He was a true humanitarian and a committed advocate of human rights.”
Pope Francis said in a statement issued by the Vatican that he was saddened to learn of the archbishop’s passing.
“Mindful of his service to the gospel through the promotion of racial equality and reconciliation in his native South Africa, his Holiness commends his soul to the loving mercy of Almighty God,” the statement read.
Former President Barack Obama said Tutu was “a moral compass for me and so many others.”
“A universal spirit, Archbishop Tutu was grounded in the struggle for liberation and justice in his own country, but also concerned with injustice everywhere,” Obama said on Twitter.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu was a mentor, a friend, and a moral compass for me and so many others. A universal spirit, Archbishop Tutu was grounded in the struggle for liberation and justice in his own country, but also concerned with injustice everywhere. pic.twitter.com/qiiwtw8a5B
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 26, 2021
While Tutu preached against the tyranny of apartheid, he would go on to be just as critical of black political elites.
He even publicly criticized his ally Mandela over what the cleric describes as the “gravy train mentality” of Mandela’s party, the African National Congress. Later, Tutu would castigate Mandela for his open affair with Graca Machel, who Mandela would eventually marry.
In 2013, Tutu withdrew his support for Mandela’s party, describing South Africa as “the most unequal society in the world.”
In recent years, Tutu started to campaign in favor of the assisted dying movement.
“Dying people should have the right to choose how and when they leave Mother Earth,” he wrote in the Washington Post in 2016.
“I have prepared for my death and have made it clear that I do not wish to be kept alive at all costs.
Towards the end of his life, Tutu also spoke with regret that the dream of a true “rainbow nation” had yet to be realized.
