Desmond Tutu hailed for fighting against injustice
President Akufo-Addo sends condolences to South Africans
MP for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has described Desmond Tutu as an example to leaders on the African continent.
The South African priest Archbishop Desmond Tutu who died on the 26th December 2021, was The Nobel Peace Prize laureate who helped end apartheid in South Africa.
He died at age 90.
A contemporary anti-apartheid icon, he was one of the driving forces behind the movement to end the policy of racial segregation and discrimination enforced by the white minority government against the black majority in South Africa from 1948 until 1991.
Adding to tributes from leaders all over the world, Hon. Okudzeto in a Facebook post stated that “the Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu’s life teaches us that no position is worth occupying if it cannot be used to boldly confront injustice and if that office cannot serve as a catalyst for the emancipation and empowerment of the downtrodden.”
He continued by saying “his conception of priesthood was not that of convenient neutrality or opportunistic pacifism where you merely offer silent, impotent prayers for the oppressed and surreptitiously court the acceptance and favours of rich and powerful oppressors who are offered the most prominent pews in the Lord’s temple.”
According to him, "from the priest’s legacy, it is evident that the soul of leadership must be: conscience, principle, courage, activism and compassion. The iconic moral compass has earned a well-deserved, glorious rest.”
Tributes have been pouring in since the passing on of South African Priest Archbishop Emeritus Desmond.
President Nana Addo also sent his condolences to the people of South Africa and the president, Cyril Ramaphosa.
He said “On behalf of the people and Government of the Republic of Ghana, I extend our deepest condolences to President Matemela Cyril Ramaphosa, the people and Government of the Republic of South Africa and his family on the death of one of Africa’s most noble, patriotic sons, Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu.
“Redoubtable priest, arguably the greatest religious leader of his generation, renowned freedom fighter, fearless anti-apartheid activist, committed human rights leader, iconic Nobel Peace Prize winner, he fulfilled his life’s purpose on earth, and receives the plaudits of a grateful posterity.”
Known affectionately as The Arch, Tutu was instantly recognisable, with his purple clerical robes, cheery demeanour and almost constant smile.
He was not afraid to show his emotions in public, including memorably laughing and dancing at the opening ceremony of the football World Cup in South Africa in 2010.
Despite his popularity though he was not a man who was loved by all. He was very critical of the government in the post-apartheid era, when, at times, he felt it was misrepresenting South Africa.
Ordained as a priest in 1960, he went on to serve as bishop of Lesotho from 1976-78, assistant bishop of Johannesburg and rector of a parish in Soweto.
He became Bishop of Johannesburg in 1985, and was appointed the first black Archbishop of Cape Town the following year. He used his high-profile role to speak out against oppression of black people in his home country, always saying his motives were religious and not political.
Archbibishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu