By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu has been described as “the spiritual father of our new nation” at his state funeral.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said the anti-apartheid hero was a “humble and brave human being who spoke up for the oppressed, the downtrodden and the suffering of the world”.
Spearheading the non-violent resistance to white minority rule, Tutu had won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 and a decade later saw his friend Nelson Mandela – jailed for decades under the regime – become president following the advent of democracy.
Ramaphosa hailed Tutu’s role in seeking to heal division in the new “rainbow nation” – a term which he had coined – as he chaired a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to unearth the atrocities committed under apartheid.
The president delivered the eulogy at the end of the funeral for the archbishop, who died aged 90 on 26 December.
In keeping with his wishes for a ceremony without ostentation, Tutu’s body lay in a plain pine coffin during the service at St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town.
Dignitaries attending the funeral of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu at the St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town began streaming in on Saturday morning.
Among Tutu’s family and widow Leah Nomalizo Tutu, mourners and guests in attendance included President Cyril Ramaphosa and former presidents Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema Motlanthe who walked in the rainy weather and into the Cathedral with their wives and former first lady Zanele Mbeki and Gugu Mtshali.
King of Lesotho Letsie III is also in attendance, along with business mogul Patrice Motsepe and his wife, Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe and Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.
Ramaphosa said: “While our beloved Madiba [Mandela] was the father of our democracy, Archbishop Desmond Tutu was the spiritual father of our new nation.
“He saw our country as a rainbow nation, emerging from the shadow of apartheid.
“It was with this term, rainbow nation, that he bequeathed our new nation the greatest git of all: hope and forgiveness.”
Rampahosa described Tutu as a “crusader in the struggle for freedom, for justice, for equality and for peace” both in his own country and around the world.
With his campaigning on issues from Aids treatment and LGBTQI+ rights to the Palestinian cause and child marriage, he “took up the cudgels on behalf of millions of people around the world,” the president said.
“He never stopped fighting. He never stopped speaking out. He never stopped caring,” he added.
At the cathedral, the archbishop’s daughter, Reverend Nontombi Naomi Tutu, said: “Thank you daddy for the many ways you showed us love, for the many times you challenged us, for the many times you comforted us.”
Tutu, who was South Africa’s first black archbishop, requested “no lavish spending” on his funeral and even “asked that the coffin be the cheapest available”, his foundation said.
Tutu’s body was set to be aquamated after the funeral – a process which involves dissolving the remains in a solution, which is considered to be a more environmentally friendly alternative to cremation.
Lala ngo xolo Desmond Mpilo Tutu.