By Victor Trammell

Photo credits: Yousuf Karsh

Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, who died at the age of 90, received an outpouring of condolences from admirers worldwide.

Tutu assumed a pivotal role in South Africa’s anti-apartheid campaign. His death was confirmed by the national government’s office on December 26.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is leading the tributes to Tutu. Tutu, according to President Ramaphosa, is a powerful spiritual leader, a global human rights warrior, and an anti-racism activist.

On Twitter, President Cyril Ramaphosa wrote, “Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu’s passing adds another chapter of sadness to our nation’s farewell to a generation of extraordinary South Africans who bequeathed us a free South Africa.”

Tutu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984. He got the award for his peaceful resistance to South Africa’s repressive white minority regime, which ruled the nation under the country’s previous apartheid government.

The world-famous freedom fighter was diagnosed with prostate cancer in the late 1990s. Tutu has recently been hospitalized and treated for the fatal ailment.

Dr. Ramphela Mamphele, the temporary chairperson of the Archbishop Desmond Tutu Intellectual Property Trust and coordinator of the Archbishop’s Office, confirmed the news of Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s death during the early morning hours. 

“He passed away peacefully this morning at the Oasis Frail Care Centre in Cape Town, South Africa, at the age of 90,” Dr. Mamphele told The Guardian in a statement he issued to the UK-based newspaper.

 Former and current world leaders, ambassadors, heads of global organizations, distinguished diplomats, and other world-class luminaries from every continent paid homage to Tutu in moving social media tributes.

As a global advocate for peace, prosperity, and human rights, the late great spiritual leader also played a critical advocacy role in the fight against HIV and AIDS in his native country of South Africa.

He additionally helped raise funds and spoke out as a vociferous proponent on behalf of HIV/AIDS patients from nations across the African continent.