Johannesburg, Dec. 26 (Reuters) – Archbishop Desmond Tutu, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and a fighter against apartheid in South Africa, has died. Is respected as the conscience of his nation Both black and white, died Sunday at the age of 90.

Tutu received the Nobel Prize In 1984 In recognition of the non-violent opposition to the rule of the white minority. A decade later, he saw the end of that regime and was the head of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to uncover the atrocities that took place under it.

As always Speaking openly, He preached against the tyranny of the white minority.

After the end of apartheid, he was considered as despicable to the black political elite as he was to Africans, but his lasting sense of reconciliation in the divided country always shone, and Tributes He was poured in from all over the world on Sunday.

In a televised speech, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa described Tutu as “one of the greatest patriots of our country”, “the loss of our nation is truly a global tragedy.”

US President Joe Biden said Tutu had followed his spiritual call to create a better, more independent and equal world. “His legacy will resonate across the ages across borders.”

Former President Barack Obama said Archbishop Desmond Tutu was a guide, friend and moral guide for me and many others. “He never lost his sense of humor and desire to find humanity in his enemies.”

Bill Clinton called Tutu’s life “a gift.”

Two Nobles on the same street

Born near Johannesburg, Tutu spent most of his later life in Cape Town and campaigned numerous rallies and campaigns to end apartheid from the front steps of St. George’s Cathedral.

Tutu died “quietly” at a Cape Town nursing home on Sunday morning, his archbishop Desmond Tutu, a representative of the IP Foundation, said. It said he would be laid to rest in the state before his funeral in St. George’s on Saturday.

Weak and wheelchair-bound, he was last seen in public at St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town in October – once a safe haven for anti-apartheid activists – for his 90th birthday service.

He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in the late 1990s and has since been hospitalized several times for treatment of related infections.

In his final years, he lamented that his dream of a “rainbow nation” had not yet come true, and frequently fought with former allies in the ruling African National Congress party, which pledged to eradicate poverty and inequality. .

At just five feet five inches (1.68 meters) tall and with a contagious smile, Tutu traveled tirelessly through the 1980s and became the face of the anti-apartheid movement abroad. Were behind the wires.

Tutu and Mandela, longtime friends, lived for a while on the same street in the South African city of Soweto, the only two-lane street in the world to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

“His most characteristic trait is that he is willing to take on positions that people do not like without fear,” Mandela once said of Tutu. “Such freedom of mind is essential for a prosperous democracy.”

‘A Prophet and a Priest’

Tutu, who officially retired from public life on his 79th birthday – once said of himself: “I want to keep my mouth shut, but I can not, I can not” – continued to talk about many moral issues.

Opposition leader The Democratic Alliance leader John Steinhuisen said Tutu’s spirit would continue to live up to our “continued effort to build a united, successful, and ethnic South Africa for all.”

In 2008, Tutu accused the West of being complicit in the suffering of the Palestinians.

In 2013, he declared his support for homosexual rights, saying “I will never worship a god who is homosexual.”

Canterbury Archbishop Justin Welby on Sunday hailed Tutu as “a prophet and a priest,” while Pope Francis offered his heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones.

The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet, wrote in a letter to Tutu’s daughter, Reverend Embo Tutu, that “the world has lost a great man who lived a truly meaningful life.”

Bernice, the daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr., said, “We’m fine because he’s here.

Additional Reporting by Wendell Roelf and Olivia Kumweda-Mtambo; Written by James Macharia Seke; Editing: Kirsten Donovan, John Stone Street and Richard Song

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