Activist and archbishop Desmond Tutu dies at 90

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Rvd. Desmond Tutu, passed on Sunday.

On Boxing Day, the world lost racial justice and LGBTQ rights activist, and determined leader of the anti-apartheid movement, Desmond Tutu.

Tutu was one of the leading voices speaking against the abuses of the oppressive apartheid regime throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

Aligning himself with the liberation struggle in the mid-70s, Tutu was an outspoken critic of the inequality he had witnessed, whose words would later be echoed by Nelson Mandela.

The Archbishop was known for his quick wit and charming humour, which he used to win over supporters in his struggles, once referring to South Africa’s racial struggles as having “a few local problems.”

He often spoke at the funerals of activists who had been killed by state security, and criticised Western political leaders Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher for their continued relationship with the apartheid governments, stating “support of this racist policy is racist.”

After the abolition of apartheid in 1994, the Archbishop continued fighting for human rights across the globe, through his energetic and charismatic speeches.

He received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in 1984 for championing human rights.