Alwaght- Desmond Tutu, Anglican bishop who helped end apartheid in South Africa and an advocate of Palestinian rights, has died aged 90.
Dr. Ramphela Mamphele, acting chairperson of the Desmond Tutu IP Trust, announced his death on behalf of the Tutu family on Sunday, but did not give details on the cause of death.
Tutu was diagnosed with prostate cancer in the late 1990s and in recent years he was hospitalized on several occasions to treat infections associated with his cancer treatment.
"Ultimately, at the age of 90, he died peacefully at the Oasis Frail Care Centre in Cape Town this morning," she said in a statement.
In 1984 Tutu won the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent opposition to apartheid. A decade later, he witnessed the ends of that regime and he chaired a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, set up to unearth atrocities committed during those dark days.
"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," President Cyril Ramaphosa said.
