Leaders in Ghana have poured tributes for the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who helped end apartheid in South Africa.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu died on Boxing Day at age 90, throwing South Africa into a state of mourning during the Yuletide.
South Africa is holding a week of events to mark the death of the freedom fighter, which includes two days of lying in state before an official state funeral on 1 January 2022 in Cape Town.
World leaders, including Queen Elizabeth II, US President Joe Biden and Pope Francis, have commiserated with the family.
President Nana Akufo-Addo and former President John Dramani Mahama have also eulogised the freedom fighter.
President Akufo-Addo described him as a “redoubtable priest, arguably the greatest religious leader of his generation, renowned freedom fighter, fearless anti-apartheid activist, committed human rights leader, iconic Nobel Peace Prize winner”.
Though saddened by his demise, President Akufo-Addo noted that the priest “fulfilled his life’s purpose on earth, and receives the plaudits of a grateful posterity”.
“The history of Africa’s struggle for freedom from colonialism, imperialism and the racist ideology of apartheid has been immeasurably enriched by the contribution of this jovial, dedicated and principled defender of the liberties and rights of Africans and oppressed peoples of the world,” he added.
Also commiserating with the bereaved family was former President John Dramani Mahama.
He expressed grief, noting that the deceased was “an eminent leader of the Christian faith and a humanist whose calling in the service of humanity transcended religion”.
“While we all grieve his demise, we can keep his memory alive by offering to be the voice of the voiceless or the silenced just as he was, and not by keeping mute in the face of injustice. This way, the memories of him and many others like him will never die but continue to live in our hearts and through our noble actions,” he added.
Who was Desmond Tutu?
Desmond Mpilo Tutu was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist.
He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop of Cape Town from 1986 to 1996, in both cases being the first black African to hold the position.
Theologically, he sought to fuse ideas from black theology with African theology.
Desmond Mpilo Tutu was born of mixed Xhosa and Motswana heritage to a poor family in Klerksdorp, South Africa.
Entering adulthood, he trained as a teacher and married Nomalizo Leah Shenxane in 1955, with whom he had four children. In 1960, he was ordained as an Anglican priest and in 1962 moved to the United Kingdom to study theology at King’s College London.
In 1966 he returned to Africa, teaching at the Federal Theological Seminary, South Africa, and then the University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland.
In 1972, he became the Theological Education Fund’s director for Africa, a position based in London but necessitating regular tours of the African continent. Back in southern Africa in 1975, he served first as dean of St Mary’s Cathedral in Johannesburg and then as Bishop of Lesotho; from 1978 to 1985 he was general-secretary of the South African Council of Churches.
He emerged as one of the most prominent opponents of South Africa’s apartheid system of racial segregation and white minority rule. Although warning the National Party government that anger at apartheid would lead to racial violence, as an activist he stressed non-violent protest and foreign economic pressure to bring about universal suffrage.
In 1985, Tutu became Bishop of Johannesburg and in 1986 the Archbishop of Cape Town, the most senior position in southern Africa’s Anglican hierarchy. In this position, he emphasised a consensus-building model of leadership and oversaw the introduction of female priests.
Also in 1986, he became president of the All Africa Conference of Churches, resulting in further tours of the continent. After President F. W. de Klerk released the anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela from prison in 1990 and the pair led negotiations to end apartheid and introduce multi-racial democracy, Tutu assisted as a mediator between rival black factions. After the 1994 general election resulted in a coalition government headed by Mandela, the latter selected Tutu to chair the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate past human rights abuses committed by both pro and anti-apartheid groups.
Following apartheid’s fall, Tutu campaigned for gay rights and spoke out on a wide range of subjects, among them the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, his opposition to the Iraq War, and his criticism of South African presidents Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma. In 2010, he retired from public life.
As Tutu rose to prominence in the 1970s, white conservatives who supported apartheid despised him, while many white liberals regarded him as too radical; many black radicals accused him of being too moderate and focused on cultivating white goodwill, while Marxist–Leninists criticised his anti-communist stance.
He was widely popular among South Africa’s black majority, and was internationally praised for his anti-apartheid activism, receiving a range of awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize. He also compiled several books of his speeches and sermons.