LAST UPDATE | 26 Dec 2021

TRIBUTES HAVE BEEN paid from around the world to Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu following his death aged 90.

Tutu, who helped end apartheid in South Africa, died in Cape Town today.

Piyushi Kotecha, chief executive of the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, and chairman Niclas Kjellstrom-Matseke said in a statement that Tutu was “a living embodiment of faith in action”.

In a statement on the foundation’s website, they added he spoke “boldly against racism, injustice, corruption and oppression, not just in apartheid South Africa but wherever in the world he saw wrongdoing, especially when it impacted the most vulnerable and voiceless in society.”

According to the trust, he died peacefully at the Oasis Frail Care Centre in Cape Town. A cause of death has not been given.

President Michael D Higgins said Tutu was “a man of profound wisdom and as a character that emphasised hope and possibility”.

In a statement, Higgins said: “The world has lost not only a great spiritual leader but a great advocate for an informed, sensitive and caring society, defined by compassion and kindness.

His death will be felt by all those in Ireland who made themselves part of the anti-Apartheid movement.

“Those Dunne Stores workers who took part in the strike against Apartheid in the 1980s, and to whom he often referred,” Higgins said.

Higgins said people will recall Tutu “meeting with striking workers Karen Gearon and Mary Manning, along with union official Brendan Archbold at a stopover in London on his way to receiving the Nobel Prize in 1984″. 

The president said he “leaves an extraordinary legacy in human rights activism of the best kind for South Africa and for the world”.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin described Tutu as a “tireless campaigner for social justice and reconciliation”. 

“He was the conscience of South Africa and beyond,” Martin said on Twitter. 

“His unshakeable faith in humanity brought people together in NI too, a vital part of our own peace process.”

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said it was “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; a leader of principle and pragmatism who gave meaning to the biblical insight that faith without works is dead,” he tweeted.

We pray that Archbishop Tutu’s soul will rest in peace but that his spirit will stand sentry over the future of our nation.

Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, described Tutu as “a man of words and action”.

He tweeted: “Archbishop Desmond Tutu was a prophet and priest, a man of words and action – one who embodied the hope and joy that were the foundations of his life. Even in our profound sorrow we give thanks for a life so well lived. May he rest in peace and rise in glory.”

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Archbishop Desmond Tutu would be remembered for his leadership and humour.

He said: “I am deeply saddened to hear of the death of Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

He was a critical figure in the fight against apartheid and in the struggle to create a new South Africa – and will be remembered for his spiritual leadership and irrepressible good humour.

Strictly Come Dancing stars Oti and Motsi Mabuse, who grew up in South Africa, joined a host of people in remembering Tutu.

Oti, a dancer on the show, tweeted: “Oh no sad news” and said it was a “major loss” for South Africa.

Strictly Judge Motsi shared a quote on Twitter which read: “Forgiving is not forgetting; its actually remembering – remembering and not using your right to hit back. It’s a second chance for a new beginning. And the remembering part is particularly important. Especially if you don’t want to repeat what happened. R.I.P Desmond Tutu.”