Desmond Tutu: Tributes pour in after death of South African anti-apartheid leader
Desmond Tutu Former Archbishop of Cape Town Desmond Tutu takes up his position as visiting professor in post-conflict societies at Kings College London on January 14, 2004 at the university's campus in central London. (Scott Barbour/Getty Images, File)
By Theresa Seiger, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Politicians, civil rights leaders, religious leaders and others took to social media to mourn the passing Sunday of South African anti-apartheid leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Tutu died in Cape Town, according to a statement issued by President Cyril Ramaphosa. He was 90.
Ramaphosa remembered Tutu as “a patriot without equal; a leader of principle and pragmatism who gave meaning to the biblical insight that faith without works is dead.”
“We pray that Archbishop Tutu’s soul will rest in peace but that his spirit will stand sentry over the future of our nation,” he wrote in a post on Twitter.
President Joe Biden and his family shared condolences for Tutu’s family and the people of South Africa in a statement released Sunday.
“Born to a school teacher and a laundress and into poverty and entrenched racial segregation, Desmond Tutu followed his spiritual calling to create a better, freer and more equal world,” the president and first lady said in the statement. “His legacy transcends borders and will echo throughout the ages.”
Desmond Tutu through the years 1980: Archbishop Desmond Tutu at a conference in London. (Derek Hudson/Getty Images, File)
Desmond Tutu through the years 1984: Ted Kennedy and Bishop Desmond Tutu during African-American Institute Event at Waldorf Hotel in New York City on Nov. 27, 1984. (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images, File)
Desmond Tutu through the years 1985: South African religious leader and activist Bishop Desmond Tutu gestures as he gives a speech at the University of California Berkeley, California, 1985. (Bromberger Hoover Photography/Getty Images, File)
Desmond Tutu through the years 1985: Desmond Tutu and Rosa Parks in 1985. (David Turnley/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images, File)
Desmond Tutu through the years 1986: Desmond Tutu smiles after being appointed Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town in 1986. His wife, Leah, is at his side. (David Turnley/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images, File)
Desmond Tutu through the years 1990: Harry Belafonte (left) and Archbishop Desmond Tutu (right) attend the inauguration for the new Mayor of New York City David Dinkins in a ceremony held at City Hall in New York City on Jan. 1, 1990. (Jim Cummins/Newsday RM via Getty Images, File)
Desmond Tutu through the years 1990: Portrait of, from left, anti-apartheid leaders Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, Winnie Mandela, Walter Sisulu, and Albertina Sisulu, Cape Town, South Africa, February 12, 1990. (Susan Winters Cook/Getty Images, File)
Desmond Tutu through the years 2003: Carlos and Deborah Santana with Archbishop Desmond Tutu on June 5, 2003. (Steve Grayson/WireImage, File)
Desmond Tutu through the years 2003: Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Samuel L Jackson during Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Carlos & Deborah Santana Announce a New Initiative and Call to Action on AIDS in Africa at the Creative Artists Agency in Beverly Hills, California on June 5, 2003. (Steve Grayson/WireImage, File)
Desmond Tutu through the years 2004: Robert De Niro and Archbishop Desmond Tutu during 3rd Annual Tribeca Film Festival at American Express Lobby at 3 World Financial Center in New York City on May 1, 2004. (KMazur/WireImage, File)
Desmond Tutu through the years 2004: Grover and Desmond Tutu during Diane Sawyer and Elmo Host Sesame Workshop's 2nd Annual Benefit Gala at Cipriani in New York City on June 2, 2004. (KMazur/WireImage, File)
Desmond Tutu through the years 2004: Zuzu, Kami and Zikwe from Takalani Sesame the South African adaptation of Sesame Street with Desmond Tutu and Oprah Winfrey on June 2, 2004. (KMazur/WireImage, File)
Desmond Tutu through the years 2004: Danny Glover and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu during South Africa Partners Benefit Gala - Honoring Danny Glover with the Desmond Tutu Award at Sheraton Boston in Boston on Oct. 8, 2004. (Marc Andrew Deley/FilmMagic, File)
Desmond Tutu through the years 2005: Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Sir Elton John pose for a photo on Jan. 9, 2005. (Marc Hoberman/Pool/Elton John Aids Foundation/WireImage, File)
Desmond Tutu through the years 2005: Wynonna Judd, Ashley Judd, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Naomi Judd pose for a photo at the Youth AIDS Gala on Sept. 14, 2005. (Louis Myrie/WireImage, File)
Desmond Tutu through the years 2006: Kevin Bacon and Archbishop Desmond Tutu during the UBUNTU Education Fund Fundraiser Event at Puck Building in New York City on June 6, 2006. (Theo Wargo/WireImage, File)
Desmond Tutu through the years 2009: Archbishop Desmond Tutu speaks at the Millennium Development Goals Awards Concert in the United Nations' General Assembly Hall on March 17, 2009 in New York City. Tutu was awards a lifetime achievement award. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Getty Images) (Michael Nagle/Getty Images)
Desmond Tutu through the years 2009: U.S. President Barack Obama (R) presents the Medal of Freedom to Bishop Desmond Tutu during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House August 12, 2009 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, File)
Desmond Tutu through the years 2010: Archbishop Desmond Tutu delivers a speech on stage at the FIFA World Cup Kick-off Celebration Concert at the Orlando Stadium on June 10, 2010 in Soweto, South Africa. (Paul Gilham/FIFA via Getty Images, File)
Desmond Tutu through the years 2011: Michelle Obama, first lady of the United States of America stands next to Nobel Prize Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu as they attend a Youth Soccer Event to speak about HIV/AIDS prevention as part of her Africa Tour to encourage youth leadership, education and health at the Cape Town Stadium on June 23, 2011 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Michelly Rall/WireImage, File)
Desmond Tutu through the years 2014: Archbishop Desmond Tutu addresses the congregation during a National Service of Thanksgiving to celebrate the life of Nelson Mandela at Westminster Abbey on March 3, 2014 in London. (John Stillwell/WPA Pool/Getty Images, File)
Desmond Tutu through the years 2014: Hillary Clinton and Desmond Tutu take the stage during the 2014 Starkey Hearing Foundation So The World May Hear Gala at the St. Paul RiverCentre on July 20, 2014 in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Adam Bettcher/Getty Images for Starkey Hearing Foundation, File)
Desmond Tutu through the years 2015: British Prince Harry (L) meets South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, as part of the Prince's week long tour to South Africa on November 30, 2015 in Cape Town. (Schalk Van Zuydam/AFP Photo/Pool via Getty Images, File)
Desmond Tutu through the years 2019: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and her son, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, meet Archbishop Desmond Tutu and at the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation during her royal tour of South Africa with Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, on September 25, 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Pool/Samir Hussein/WireImage, File)
Desmond Tutu through the years 2019: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and their baby son, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, meet Archbishop Desmond Tutu at the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation during their royal tour of South Africa on September 25, 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Toby Melville - Pool/Getty Images, File)
Desmond Tutu through the years 2021: Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus and Nobel Peace Laureate, greets well-wishers as he is wheeled out of the Brooklyn Chest Hospital, after being vaccinated against COVID 19, in Cape Town, on May 17, 2021. (Rodger Bosch/AFP via Getty Images, File)
In a letter written to Tutu’s daughter, Rev. Mpho Tutu, the Dalai Lama shared his condolences, remembering his “enduring friendship” with the civil rights leader.
“Archbishop Desmond Tutu was entirely dedicated to serving his brothers and sisters for the greater common good,” the Dalai Lama wrote. “He was a true humanitarian and a committed advocate of human rights. … With his passing away, we have lost a great man, who lived a truly meaningful life.”
Bernice King, the daughter of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., remembered Tutu as a “global sage … and powerful pilgrim on Earth.”
“A great, influential elder is now an eternal, witnessing ancestor,” she wrote. “And we are better because he was here.”
President Barack Obama called Tutu “a mentor, a friend and a moral compass for me and so many others.”
“A universal spirit, Archbishop Tutu was grounded in the struggle for liberation and justice in his own country, but also concerned with injustice everywhere,” Obama wrote in a Facebook post. “He never lost his impish sense of humor and willingness to find humanity in his adversaries, and Michelle and I will miss him dearly.”
President Bill Clinton shared prayers for Tutu’s family from him and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in a statement published Sunday.
“Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s life was a gift,” he said in the statement. “Blessed with brilliance and eloquence, steady determination and good humor, and an unshakeable faith in the inherent decency of all people, Archbishop Tutu fully embodied the spirit of Ubuntu: ‘I am because you are.’”
Queen Elizabeth II said Sunday that she and the entire British royal family were “deeply saddened by the news of the death of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a man who tirelessly championed human rights in South Africa and across the world.”
“I remember with fondness my meetings with him and his great warmth and humor,” she said in a statement released by officials.