South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu, one of the leading anti-apartheid activists, has died at the age of 90, Reuters reports.
Tutu was outspoken in his criticism of his country's system of discrimination and oppression towards the Black majority. He was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his non-violent opposition to the white minority rule in South Africa.
Tutu passed away in Cape Town on Sunday, December 26, with the country's president Cyril Ramaphosa saying of his death: “The passing of archbishop emeritus Desmond Tutu is another chapter of bereavement in our nation’s farewell to a generation of outstanding South Africans who have bequeathed us a liberated South Africa. Desmond Tutu was a patriot without equal.
“From the pavements of resistance in South Africa to the pulpits of the world’s great cathedrals and places of worship, and the prestigious setting of the Nobel peace prize ceremony, the Arch distinguished himself as a non-sectarian, inclusive champion of universal human rights.”
Tutu had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in the latter half of the 90s and more recently, he had undergone treatment for infections linked to his cancer treatment.
“Ultimately, at the age of 90, he died peacefully at the Oasis Frail Care Centre in Cape Town this morning,” Dr Ramphela Mamphele, acting chairperson of the Archbishop Desmond Tutu IP Trust and coordinator of the Office of the Archbishop, shared in a statement on behalf of Tutu's family.
Dr. Mamphele went on to say of the late Archbishop that he "turned his own misfortune into a teaching opportunity to raise awareness and reduce the suffering of others".
The statement continued: "He wanted the world to know that he had prostate cancer, and that the sooner it is detected the better the chance of managing it."
It added: "Courageous, gracious, and concerned for the welfare of others to the very end. As Mrs Tutu says, although he was not physically imposing, he had the inner strength of a lion."
A cause of death has not yet been made public.
Our thoughts are with Tutu's loved ones at this difficult time.