By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Photo Credit:Stephen Voss.
Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba has revealed that the family of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu have been planning for his death and funeral arrangements for more than six years and are currently executing the plan to send him to his final resting place.
The Mpilo Plan, as it is called, was also shared with the government to assist in the planning after his death.
Makgoba said the family started drafting the document back in 2015 and copies of the document were given to the local, provincial and the national government.
Tutu was the first black cleric to be elected as the Bishop of Johannesburg before being inaugurated in 1986 as the first black cleric to become Archbishop of Cape Town.
He also served as the General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches (SACC) and as Chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
The City of Cape Town has advised the public that numerous roads around the City Hall will be closed on Wednesday, ahead of the interfaith tribute to Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu.
Parade Street from Caledon Street to Darling Street will be closed at 06:00.
A lane closure will be in place on Darling Street, between Buitenkant and Corporation streets, from 12:00 onward.
At 15:00, Darling Street will be closed between Buitenkant and Lower Plein streets. Corporation Street (Longmarket to Darling Street) will also be closed.
A large screen will be placed outside the City Hall where members of the public are welcome to join and view the service as general public access will not be possible inside the City Hall due to limited seating due to ongoing national Covid-19 safety protocols.
The public can access the Grand Parade from the side of the Castle of Good Hope.
Here are some of the many tributes,speeches and events for Desmond Tutu:
City of Cape Town hold interfaith service in honour of Desmond Tutu
Loss of Tutu a “global bereavement” – Ramaphosa.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has described the day of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu’s passing as one of the saddest of days in the nation’s history.
The 90-year-old social justice champion passed away in Cape Town on Sunday, 26 December 2021.
Affectionately known as “The Arch” to millions across the world, Tutu’s life was punctuated by his intense passion for human rights – displayed by his outspoken nature against the Apartheid government and by his tireless campaigning for the downtrodden people of the world.
In his address to the nation following Tutu’s death, President Ramaphosa said the clergyman was one of South Africa’s finest patriots.
“We have lost a person who carried the burden of leadership with compassion, with dignity, with humility and with such good humour. We are comforted in the knowledge that he has left an indelible mark in the lives of the millions of people who had the privilege and honour of knowing him,” the President said.
The struggle icon not only fought the racist Apartheid regime from the pulpit where he preached but also took the fight against racial segregation to the streets by leading protests and acts of civil disobedience against the apartheid government.
“Like many of his time, he was a witness to the gravest injustices and the most intolerable cruelty. In his ministry, in his struggle against apartheid, and as Chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), he saw the depths to which human beings could descend in the subjugation of others. And yet, his faith in humanity, like his faith in God, was unwavering,” Ramaphosa said.
Tutu’s firm stance on non-violence and dedication to the struggle against Apartheid despite immense pressure from the racist regime earned him a Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.
This,Ramaphosa said, is a testament of Tutu’s devotion to transformation and advancing social justice.
“It was an honour that he accepted not for himself, but for all South Africans who stood for freedom, for peace and for justice. And it was in receiving this great honour in Oslo that he said: ‘There is no peace because there is no justice.’ It was a fundamental principle to which he held throughout his life. It is a principle to which we must remain true as we mourn his passing.
“Our country will not know the peace we seek until all have justice, until all have a place to sleep and enough to eat, until all children have an education, until all women feel safe in their homes and on our streets,” he said.
Tutu, post-Apartheid
In post-Apartheid, Tutu was appointed as chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) where he led the country through a process of truth telling, reconciliation of differing parties, helping to heal the wounds of the nation and forgiveness.
At the end of the TRC, Tutu turned his attention to speaking out and fighting against social ills such as xenophobia, homophobia and the spread of HIV and Aids.
Ramaphosa praised Tutu for his continued dedication to the upliftment of others.
“His brave and often critical voice lost none of its vigour when apartheid ended. He continued his work as a tireless campaigner for the rights of the oppressed. He was frank and forthright, speaking truth to power, even when this meant criticising the democratic government.
“May we follow in his footsteps. May we too be worthy inheritors of the mantle of service, of selflessness, of courage, and of principled solidarity with the poor and marginalised,” the President said.
Tutu lived a life of servanthood – Joburg Mayor Mpho Phalatse
Joburg Mayor Mpho Phalatse says Archbishop Desmond Tutu will be remembered as a man who lived a life of servanthood.
She was speaking at the memorial service held for the late Arch Bishop in Soweto’s Vilakazi street.
“Archbishop Tutu lived a life of servanthood.He did not seek personal gain and that is why he spoke so fearlessly against corruption.”
Another neighbour, Nkele Chakela, 69, remembered how every Christmas the archbishop would bring parcels to the elderly people of Soweto.
“We started knowing love through bab’Tutu. The memories I have of bab’Tutu is he never wanted to see people cry. He wanted to see people living equally in the rainbow nation. We lived with the likes of Mr Mandela and bab’Tutu, and people are different. We are saying his legacy must not end here. He was a father, a real father,” said Chakela.
When the Tutus first moved to Soweto, Chakela was already living there.
“He was a humble person. When they (Tutu and his family) moved in, they would go into people’s houses to let them know who they were, and they wanted to know who their neighbours were.
“They showed love to everyone in the neighbourhood. They always had their hands open. He gave people everything, and he gave them love. Love is not about money. We were happy to have people like baba and mama Tutu,” she said.
“Baba Tutu always used to say God is not in double story houses and big houses. He is here on the ground with us, don’t be afraid when you see me and think I am a big person. I am here on the ground with you,” she added.
Peter Lenkoe, a retired dean and retired rector of the Holy Cross Anglican Church, said Tutu lived his teachings through and through.
Sello Hatang – Rest in peace our ancestor of conscience and truth-telling
Whenever I think of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, this Setswana idiom comes to mind. The Arch was one person who, to the end of his life at 90, was willing to sacrifice everything for what he believed was rightfully his.
Freedom for his people. Freedom from want. Freedom from the pain of oppression. Freedom from being discriminated against. Freedom for a people to determine their own destiny and have an international policy that does not sacrifice their independence. Freedom from pollution and litter. Freedom to be childlike and not be too serious about life. Freedom to associate. Freedom to claim your right to speak truth to power.
Ultimately, we need freedom in order to be human.
Public Works Minister Patricia De Lille says the last few days before Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu’s death was painful.
“He (Tutu) was in so much pain. He was on morphine over the last few days and the family was by his side every day,” she said. De Lille was a close friend of Tutu. She said Tutu didn’t want a lavish funeral and President Cyril Ramaphosa agreed that the church will take the lead in the funeral preparations.
Singer Vicki Sampson has confirmed on social media she will be performing her song African Dream tonight at the interfaith tribute for Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Sampson will be performing alongside the SA Youth Choir, Darren English, Zolani Mahola, Jonathan Butler, Ard Matthews, Gugs Tenors and Fancy Galada.
In his 1984 Nobel lecture, Tutu said:
“Once a Zambian and a South African, it is said, were talking. The Zambian then boasted about their minister of naval affairs. The South African asked, ‘But you have no navy, no access to the sea. How then can you have a minister of naval affairs?’ The Zambian retorted, ‘Well, in South Africa you have a Minister of Justice, don’t you?'”
In a 1986 interview with US press, reacting to Ronald Reagan’s vetoing of economic sanctions apartheid government, Tutu asserted:
“Your president is the pits as far as blacks are concerned. He sits there like the great, big white chief of old can tell us black people that we don’t know what is good for us. The white man knows.”
In a speech at University of Michigan, 2008, Tutu said:
“One day I was in San Francisco, minding my own business, as I always do, when a lady came up gushing. Oh, she was so warm and she was greeting me and she said, ‘Hello, Archbishop Mandela!’ Sort of getting two for the price of one.”
Premier Kaobitsa Bushy Maape to lead Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu’s memorial service in Klerksdorp.
North West Premier Kaobitsa Bushy Maape will lead a memorial service of the late Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu at Klerksdorp in the City of Matlosana Local Municipality.
Archbishop Emeritus Tutu was born in Klerksdorp in 1931. In 2001 he was awarded the Freedom of the City of Matlosana and had one of the main streets named after him.
Premier Maape will be accompanied by the City of Matlosana Local Municipality Executive Mayor, Councillor James Tsolela, Bishop of Anglican Church in the Matlosana Diocese Stephen Diseko, Provincial Chairperson of the South African Council of Churches Bishop Victor Phalana, other leaders of Faith Based Organisations as well as members of the community.
The service will be preceded by a prayer session where dignitaries will also lay a wreath at Archbishop Emeritus Tutu’s birth place.
Dalai Lama not attending Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu’s funeral
The Dalai Lama will not be attending his close friend Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu’s funeral on Saturday.
Wasel Abu Youssef, member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation
“Father Desmond Tutu was one of the biggest supporters of the Palestinian cause. He had always advocated the rights of the Palestinians to gain their freedom and rejected Israeli occupation and apartheid.”
The Special Official Funeral will take place in St George’s Cathedral, Cape Town, on New Year’s Day, Saturday, 1 January 2022.