Former President of the Republic, John Dramani Mahama, has lauded the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Contained in a Facebook post, Mr. Mahama revealed that the late Archbishop was an eminent leader of the Christian faith and a humanist whose calling in the service of humanity transcended religion. Mr Mahama explained that God calling him to rest during this sacred period of Christmas could only have been divinely scripted, with him having lived a full life, dedicated to God and humanity.
The former President expressed that the renowned Christian Leader would forever be remembered for his fight against injustice, especially during the era of apartheid.
“I have heard with sadness the passing of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a foremost son of our continent. He was an eminent leader of the Christian faith and a humanist whose calling in the service of humanity transcended religion. God calling him to rest during this sacred period of Christmas could only have been divinely scripted, with him having lived a full life, dedicated to God and humanity”.
Mr John Dramani Mahama
Desmond Tutu, Mr Mahama noted aside from being an “uncompromising figure” against apartheid in South Africa and all forms of injustice anywhere they occur, is also famously remembered for his saying: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality”.
“While we all grieve his demise, we can keep his memory alive by offering to be the voice of the voiceless or the silenced just as he was, and not by keeping mute in the face of injustice. This way, the memories of him and many others like him, will never die but continue to live in our hearts and through our noble actions. May his soul rest well in eternity”.
Mr John Dramani Mahama
Desmond Tutu eulogized
Commenting on the demise of Desmond Tutu, President Cyril Ramaphosa revealed that the churchman’s death marked “another chapter of bereavement in our nation’s farewell to a generation of outstanding South Africans”.
Archbishop Tutu, the Soth African President noted, had helped bequeath “a liberated South Africa”, as he was one of the country’s best known figures at home and abroad.
President Ramaphosa indicated that Tutu was “an iconic spiritual leader, anti-apartheid activist and global human rights campaigner”. He described him as a patriot without equal and a leader of principle and pragmatism who gave meaning to the biblical insight that faith without works is dead.
“A man of extraordinary intellect, integrity and invincibility against the forces of apartheid, he was also tender and vulnerable in his compassion for those who had suffered oppression, injustice and violence under apartheid, and oppressed and downtrodden people around the world”.
President Cyril Ramaphosa
The Nelson Mandela Foundation was among those paying tributes, saying Tutu’s contributions to struggles against injustice, locally and globally, are matched only by the depth of his thinking about the making of liberatory futures for human societies.
“He was an extraordinary human being. A thinker. A leader. A shepherd.”
Former US president Barack Obama described him as a mentor and a “moral compass”.
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