{"id":212532,"date":"2021-12-29T13:31:51","date_gmt":"2021-12-29T11:31:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/loss-of-tutu-a-global-bereavement\/"},"modified":"2021-12-29T13:31:51","modified_gmt":"2021-12-29T11:31:51","slug":"loss-of-tutu-a-global-bereavement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/loss-of-tutu-a-global-bereavement\/","title":{"rendered":"Loss of Tutu a \u201cglobal bereavement\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
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President Cyril Ramaphosa has described the day of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu\u2019s passing as one of the saddest of days in the nation\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

The 90-year-old social justice champion passed away in Cape Town on Sunday, 26 December 2021.<\/p>\n

Affectionately known as \u201cThe Arch\u201d to millions across the world, Tutu\u2019s life was punctuated by his intense passion for human rights \u2013 displayed by his outspoken nature against the Apartheid government and by his tireless campaigning for the downtrodden people of the world.<\/p>\n

In his address to the nation following Tutu\u2019s death, President Ramaphosa said the clergyman was one of South Africa\u2019s finest patriots.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have lost a person who carried the burden of leadership with compassion, with dignity, with humility and with such good humour. We are comforted in the knowledge that he has left an indelible mark in the lives of the millions of people who had the privilege and honour of knowing him,\u201d the President said.<\/p>\n

The struggle icon not only fought the racist Apartheid regime from the pulpit where he preached but also took the fight against racial segregation to the streets by leading protests and acts of civil disobedience against the apartheid government.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike many of his time, he was a witness to the gravest injustices and the most intolerable cruelty. In his ministry, in his struggle against apartheid, and as Chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), he saw the depths to which human beings could descend in the subjugation of others. And yet, his faith in humanity, like his faith in God, was unwavering,\u201d President Ramaphosa said.<\/p>\n

Tutu\u2019s firm stance on non-violence and dedication to the struggle against Apartheid despite immense pressure from the racist regime earned him a Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.<\/p>\n

This, President Ramaphosa said, is a testament of Tutu\u2019s devotion to transformation and advancing social justice.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an honour that he accepted not for himself, but for all South Africans who stood for freedom, for peace and for justice. And it was in receiving this great honour in Oslo that he said: \u2018There is no peace because there is no justice.\u2019 It was a fundamental principle to which he held throughout his life. It is a principle to which we must remain true as we mourn his passing.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur country will not know the peace we seek until all have justice, until all have a place to sleep and enough to eat, until all children have an education, until all women feel safe in their homes and on our streets,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Tutu, post-Apartheid<\/strong><\/p>\n

In post-Apartheid, Tutu was appointed as chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) where he led the country through a process of truth telling, reconciliation of differing parties, helping to heal the wounds of the nation and forgiveness.<\/p>\n

At the end of the TRC, Tutu turned his attention to speaking out and fighting against social ills such as xenophobia, homophobia and the spread of HIV and Aids.<\/p>\n

President Ramaphosa praised Tutu for his continued dedication to the upliftment of others.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis brave and often critical voice lost none of its vigour when apartheid ended. He continued his work as a tireless campaigner for the rights of the oppressed. He was frank and forthright, speaking truth to power, even when this meant criticising the democratic government.<\/p>\n

\u201cMay we follow in his footsteps. May we too be worthy inheritors of the mantle of service, of selflessness, of courage, and of principled solidarity with the poor and marginalised,\u201d the President said. \u2013 SAnews.gov.za<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Cyril Ramaphosa has described the day of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu\u2019s passing as one of the saddest of days in the nation\u2019s history. The 90-year-old social justice champion passed away in Cape Town on Sunday, 26 December 2021. Affectionately known as \u201cThe Arch\u201d to millions across the world, Tutu\u2019s life was punctuated by his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":212533,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[38678],"class_list":{"0":"post-212532","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-south-africa","8":"tag-sanews","9":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/loss-of-tutu-a-global-bereavement.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212532"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212532\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/212533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}