01.

Desmond Mpilo Tutu (fondly known as the “Arch”) was born in the small town of Klerksdorp, in the North West Province of South Africa. Second son to school headmaster, Zacahriah Zelilo Tutu and mother, Aletta Mathlare.

Though baptised as Methodist, it was through his sister Sylvia’s lead into the African Methodical Episcopal Church that the family entire family finally became Anglicans in 1943.

Tutu completed his teaching diploma and taught at his old school, Madipane High in Krugersdorp in 1954. The same year that the Bantu Education Act was in effect that aimed at reducing black children to subservient work such as manual labour and menial jobs seen as suitable by the government. The intention being to indoctrinate the idea that black people were inferior to white South Africans.

Tutu obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of South Africa (UNISA). It was here that Robert Managliso Sobukwe, first president of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) aided him with his studies.

As wedding negotions bore fruitful results, on the 2nd of July 1955, Archbishop Tutu married Nomalizo Leah Shenxane, his future bride and brightest pupil under his father’s teachings. After their marriage, Tutu began teaching at Munsieville High School, where his father was still the headmaster. He is remembered as an inspiring teacher. Three years later, Desmond Tutu quit in protest due to promoted inequality, refusing to be part of a corrupted educational system

Upon returning to South Africa, Tutu taught at the Federal Theological Seminary at Alice in the Eastern Cape. Holding the positon of lecturer at the Seminary, Tutu was also appointed as the Anglican Chaplain to the University of Fort Hare. It was during his time at Alice that Tutu began making his views against apartheid known.

Due to become the Vice-Principal of the Seminary, Tutu’s mixed feelings towards the promotion saw him accepting an invitation to become a lecturer at the University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland, based at Roma in Lesotho.

Reverend Tutu then relocated with his family to London. Here, Tutu was appointed the Associate Director of Africa of the Theological Education Fund in London which was started in 1960 which sought to improve theological education in the developing world by the World Council of Churches.

Leslie Stradling, Bishop of Johannesburg was due to retire and in search of a successor. Though Timothy Bavin, a consistent supporter of Reverend Tutu, filled the role, Bishop Stradling invited Reverend Tutu to become his Dean.

Elected as Patron of the United Democratic Front (UDF), one of the most important non-racial anti-apartheid organisations. His community activism was complemented by that of his wife Leah. She championed the cause for better working conditions for domestic workers in South Africa. She helped found the South African Domestic Workers Association.

Whilst in America in 1984, Tutu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his untiring effort in calling for an end to White minority rule in South Africa. While several Black South Africans celebrated this prestigious award, the Government was silent, not even congratulating Tutu on his achievement. He became the second black South African to be listed under Nobel Laureates after Albert Luthuli.

Learning about his nomination for Bishop of Johannesburg, Tutu used his influence to urge foreign disinvestment in South Africa as well as civil disobedience, as a way to dismantle Apartheid which subjected him to harassment by the Security Police. Tutu’s appointment as the first black Anglican Bishop of Johannesburg, found his critics, mainly Whites and a few Blacks, in opposition of his election.

As the Alexandra Township in Johannesburg went up in flames in 1986, Tutu, together with Reverend Beyers Naude and Dr Boesak and other church leaders went to diffuse the situation. After having served as Bishop of Johannesburg for 18 months, Tutu took on the role of Bishop of Cape Town, becoming the first black person to lead the Anglican Church of the Province of Southern Africa. He was also the president of the All Africa Conference of Churches.

In 1988, Bishop Tutu was appointed as the Chancellor of the University of the Western Cape.

Following his appointment in 1989 as State President, FW De Klerk on the 2nd of February 1990 unbanned the ANC and other political parties, and announced plans to release Nelson Mandela from prison, which took place on the 11th of February. The process was not without violence.

When bestowing the award, President Mandela said “He is renowned for selfless commitment to the poor, the oppressed and downtrodden. With his colleagues he remained an effective voice of the people of South Africa when so many of their leaders were imprisoned, exiled, banned and restricted”. He was also acknowledged by the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Carey with the Archbishop of Canterbury Award for outstanding service to the Anglican Communion. As well as bestowed with the Grand Merit Cross handed to Archbishop Tutu in November 1996 by then German President Professor Roman Herzog to mention the few.

In 1997, The “Arch” was diagnosed with prostate cancer and underwent successful treatment in America. Despite this ailment, he continued to work with the commission. He subsequently became patron of the South African Prostate Cancer Foundation, which was established in 2007.

On October 28, 1998 the Commission presented its report, which condemned both sides for their atrocities. The TRC has become a model for a number of similar post-conflict procedures around the world. The Desmond Tutu Peace Centre (DTPC) was co-founded by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Mrs. Leah Tutu. The Centre plays a unique role in building and leveraging the legacy of Archbishop Tutu to enable peace in the world. Since Apartheid’s fall, the Arch Emeritus Tutu has campaigned for gay rights and spoken out on a wide range of subjects, among them the Israel-Palestine conflict and his opposition to the Iraq War.

He divided his time between homes in Soweto’s Orlando West and Milnerton. In 2000, he opened an office in Cape Town. In June 2000, the Cape Town-based Desmond Tutu Peace Centre was launched, which in 2003 launched an Emerging Leadership Program. Conscious that his presence in South Africa might overshadow Archbishop Emeritus Njongonkulu Ndungane, the “Arch” agreed to a two-year visiting professorship at Emory University. This took place between 1998 and 2000, and during the period he wrote a book about the TRC, No Future Without Forgiveness.

In May 2013, the Arch declared that he would no longer vote for the ANC, stating that while the party was “very good at leading us in the struggle to be free from oppression”, it had done a poor job in countering inequality, violence, and corruption in South Africa. After Mandela died in December 2013, Tutu had publicly criticised the memorials held for Mandela, stating that they had given too much prominence to the ANC and that Afrikaners had been marginalised from them, believing that Mandela himself would have been appalled by this. The Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation was established in 2013 and based in Cape Town. However, notwithstanding his frail health, the “Arch” continued to be highly revered for his knowledge, views and experience, especially in reconciliation.

In 2015, to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary, the “Arch” and Leah renewed their vows. He continues to criticise the South African government over corruption scandals and what he says is the loss of their moral compass. The “Arch” never stopped publicly speaking out against what he considers immoral behaviour, whether in China, Europe, or the United States. It was the “Arch” who coined the popular phrase, the ‘Rainbow Nation’ to describe the beauty in difference to be found among all the different people in South Africa. Even though the term’s popularity has waned over the years, the ideal of a united harmonious South African nation is still one that is yearned for.

Revelling in his humanity, in both words and actions, Tutu showed fellow South Africans and people across the world what a life lived in love looks like.

One of the world’s most respected spiritual and human rights leaders, Tutu was a living testament to faith in action, insuppressible in his opposition against the evils of racism, oppression, intolerance, and injustice not just during apartheid South Africa, but wherever in the world he saw moral wrongs, especially impacting the most vulnerable and voiceless in society.

Tutu was a healer at heart, an eternal optimist (a true “prisoner of hope”) and wry humourist. He will be remembered for his powerful words in defence of the most vulnerable among us, his infinite capacity for empathy, his quick wit, his infectious laugh, and his unfailing ability to turn toward the light even during unbearably dark times.

Go well, dearest Arch. In you, the world has lost a force of reckoning. You will be deeply missed. May we always be guided by your prophetic vision for our country and for humanity:

“God calls on us to be his partners to work for a new kind of society where people count; where people matter more than things, more than possessions; where human life is not just respected but positively revered; where people will be secure and not suffer from the fear of hunger, from ignorance, from disease; where there will be more gentleness, more caring, more sharing, more compassion, more laughter; where there is peace and not war”.

Rest in peace, lala ngoxolo, robala ka khotso, robala ka kgotso, tsamaya hantle, robala ka khotso, vha edele nga mulalo, rus in vrede, Etlela hiku rhula, otaung oa ha boHlalele.