Ramaphosa mourns the death of Tutu, “a global icon of peace and freedom”

The President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, today mourned the death of the South African Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, whom he defined as “A global icon of peace and freedom.”

“Today is the saddest day”, he claimed Rampahosa, visibly saddened, in a message addressed to the nation tonight after announcing the death of Tutu at the age of 90 in Cape Town (southwest) in the morning.

“In this season of joy and goodwill, at a time when many people celebrate with family and friends, we have lost one of the most courageous and loved among us. Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu was one of our nation’s greatest patriots. ” stressed the head of state.

Ramaphosa described Tutu, winner of the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize for his activism against the racist regime of the “apartheid”, What “A man of unwavering courage, of principled convictions, whose life he spent in the service of others. He embodied the essence of our humanity ”.

The archbishop, he emphasized, knew that “good would triumph over evil, that justice would prevail over iniquity and that reconciliation would prevail over revenge and recrimination ”.

“I knew,” he continued, “that apartheid would end, that democracy would come. I knew that our people would be free. “

Ramaphosa announced that the country will observe “A period of mourning during which the national flag will fly at half mast” in public buildings and in South African embassies abroad.

The duel, he specified, “It will be observed from the moment of the formal declaration of the funeral until the night before the service” funeral.

The details of the funeral and the commemorative events will be announced in the coming days, added the president, who closed his speech with the words: “Go well, good and faithful servant. You will be greatly missed. May God bless South Africa and protect its people ”.

Awarded the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize for his fight against “apartheid,” Tutu is considered one of the key figures in contemporary South African history.

His career has been marked by a constant defense of human rights, something that led him to distance himself on numerous occasions from the ecclesiastical hierarchy to openly defend positions such as homosexual rights or euthanasia.

In recent years, he had stayed away from public life due to his advanced age and health problems that he had dragged on for years, including prostate cancer.

His last public appearance was in brief video images broadcast on his 90th birthday (last October 7), an anniversary that his foundation celebrated with a virtual conference attended by, among others, the top Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, the Mozambican activist and widow of Nelson Mandela, Graça Machel, or the former Irish president Mary Robinson.