Desmond Tutu

Archbishop Desmond Tutu was born in 1931 and is a South African cleric and activist who won worldwide fame in the 1980’s as an opponent to apartheid. He called for boycotts of his own country in response to the racism in Africa.

Tutu was the first black South African to be elected to be the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town in South Africa. Tutu was also the primate of the Church of Province of South Africa. In 1984 Tutu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He also was the recipient of the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism. On top of all this he also got the Magubela Prize for liberty in 1986.

Desmond often reminiscences about how he enjoyed it when white British policemen addressed him or his wife as Sir or Madam[1], not what he was used to in South Africa.

Bishop Tutu has criticized the schism in the Anglican Communion over the role of homosexuals in the church. At a 2006 conference in Nairobi he was quoted as being "deeply disturbed that in the face of some of the most horrendous problems facing Africa, we concentrate on 'what do I do in bed with whom'".

Comment following Pietersburg fight

On April 22 1986 a National Party meeting to be addressed by then Minister of Foreign Affairs Roelof "Pik" Botha in the Transvaal town of Pietersburg (renamed Polokwane under the ANC government) was disrupted by 5,000 White rightwingers (including the AWB) Desmond Tutu expressed glee at the violence.

He said, "If they (Whites) can turn on each other now, that means our battles are going to be less horrendous".

This also signified that he was preparing to engage in battles with Whites. Which could be seen as shattering the myth that he was a peaceful man.