Requiem for Tutu: “Crusaders in the Fight for Freedom”

With a ceremony according to the wishes of the deceased, South Africa bid farewell to Nobel Peace Prize laureate and folk hero Tutu. President Ramaphosa praised him as a “global icon” and freedom fighter.

South Africa said goodbye to its folk hero and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Tutu today with a memorial service.

Only 100 mourners were allowed in Cape Town’s St. George’s Cathedral. In addition to Tutu’s family, President Cyril Ramaphosa and other members of the government, Tutu’s companions, veterans of the anti-apartheid struggle and clergy took part in the ceremony, for which Tutu had given precise instructions: According to his wishes, the ceremony should be as simple as possible.

The tutu, famous for its modesty, was laid out in a simple coffin while the family asked for charitable donations in lieu of flowers. The two-hour Anglican Requiem was broadcast live on state television and on the Internet.

Ramaphosa pays tribute to “global icon”

In his funeral speech, Ramaphosa honored Tutu as a “humble and brave man” who spoke out on behalf of the oppressed and suffering of the world.

“If we understand the term ‘global icon’ to mean great moral stature, extraordinary qualities and service to humanity, there can be no doubt that it refers to the man we are burying today,” said he called Tutu a “crusader in the fight for freedom, justice, equality and peace” – not only in South Africa, but worldwide.

Fight against apartheid

Together with the later South African 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, he also campaigned against climate change, HIV, child marriage and gender discrimination.

“He never stopped fighting, he never stopped speaking his mind and he never stopped worrying,” said Ramaphosa. “Tutu was South Africa’s” moral compass and national conscience “.

“Rainbow Nation” flag for widow

Ramaphosa Tutu’s widow Leah then presented 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 to be buried in a mausoleum inside St. George’s Cathedral, from whose pulpit Tutu had preached against the brutality of the apartheid regime for many years.

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.

With information from Karin Wehrheim, ARD-Studio Johannesburg