Folk hero
Memorial service for Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu in South Africa
Mpho Tutu sits at the coffin of her father, the retired Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Photo: Nic Bothma / Pool EPA / AP / dpa
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South Africa’s folk hero Tutu is considered an indomitable moral authority and a contentious man of God. Now the country has to say goodbye to the spokesman in the fight against the former racist apartheid system.
South Africa says goodbye to its folk hero and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu. The funeral service for the world-famous human rights activist and retired Anglican Archbishop, who died the previous Sunday, began in St. George’s Cathedral in Cape Town.
President Cyril Ramaphosa will give the funeral speech and then hand Tutu’s widow Leah South Africa’s six-colored flag, on the basis of which Tutu coined the term “rainbow nation”, which describes the peaceful coexistence of South Africa’s numerous population groups after apartheid. Tutu’s ashes are later buried in a mausoleum inside the cathedral, from whose pulpit Tutu preached against the brutality of the apartheid regime for many years.
Family asks for donations
Famous for its modesty, the tutu was laid out in a simple coffin while the family asked for charitable donations in lieu of flowers. The mourners of the deliberately simple ceremony were limited to close friends and family, clergy and a few international guests, including King Letsie III. from neighboring Lesotho. South Africans watched the funeral service live on state television.
The country’s most prominent clergyman died last Sunday at the age of 90. Since then, flags have been waving at half-mast on public buildings; Church bells all over South Africa have been rung daily in Tutu’s honor since Sunday.
Together with later President Nelson Mandela, Tutu fought against the racist apartheid system. In 1984 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent work. After the end of apartheid, Tutu campaigned for the reconciliation of blacks and whites.