South Africa’s ‘spiritual leader’, Desmond Tutu, is dead

South African cleric, Bishop Desmond Tutu, was on Sunday confirmed dead at the age of 90.

The death of the theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human right, was confirmed by the nation’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa.

In a statement confirming the death of the first black African to hold the position of the Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then the Archbishop of Cape Town from 1986 to 1996, Ramaphosa described him as “an iconic spiritual leader, anti-apartheid activist and global human rights campaigner”, saying “a patriot without equal; a leader of principle and pragmatism who gave meaning to the biblical insight that faith without works is dead.

He added, “A man of extraordinary intellect, integrity and invincibility against the forces of apartheid, he was also tender and vulnerable in his compassion for those who had suffered oppression, injustice and violence under apartheid, and oppressed and downtrodden people around the world.”

“The passing of archbishop emeritus Desmond Tutu is another chapter of bereavement in our nation’s farewell to a generation of outstanding South Africans who have bequeathed us a liberated South Africa,” Ramaphosa said.

“From the pavements of resistance in South Africa to the pulpits of the world’s great cathedrals and places of worship, and the prestigious setting of the Nobel peace prize ceremony, the Arch distinguished himself as a non-sectarian, inclusive champion of universal human rights.”

Tutu was diagnosed with prostate cancer in the late 1990s and in recent years he was hospitalised on several occasions to treat infections associated with his treatment.

“Ultimately, at the age of 90, he died peacefully at the Oasis Frail Care Centre in Cape Town this morning,” Dr Ramphela Mamphele, acting chairperson of the Archbishop Desmond Tutu IP Trust and coordinator of the Office of the Archbishop, said in a statement on behalf of the Tutu family.

She did not give details on the cause of death.