Anti-apartheid leader, Desmond Tutu dead at 90

Picture Courtesy: Financial Times

The Nobel Peace Prize-winning Anglican cleric, Desmond Tutu has died at the age of 90. In a statement released by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, he expressed his condolences.

The statement by the President read, “A man of extraordinary intellect, integrity and invincibility against the forces of apartheid, he was also tender and vulnerable in his compassion for those who had suffered oppression, injustice and violence under apartheid, and oppressed and downtrodden people around the world.”

Desmond Tutu was ill since 2013. He was admitted to the hospital multiple times since 2013.

Former US President Barack Obama also joined the tributes being paid to Desmond Tutu. Mr. Obama said, "Archbishop Tutu was grounded in the struggle for liberation and justice in his own country, but also concerned with injustice everywhere. He never lost his impish sense of humor and willingness to find humanity in his adversaries, and Michelle and I will miss him dearly.”

Queen Elizabeth II also sent her tribute saying, "Archbishop Tutu's loss will be felt by the people of South Africa and by so many people in Great Britain, Northern Ireland and across the Commonwealth, where he was held in such high affection and esteem.”

Desmond Tutu was one of the primary voices in exhorting the South African government to end apartheid, the country's official policy of racial segregation. Tutu's civil and human rights work led to prominent honors from around the world. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009 from President Barack Obama.