And in honour of the father of South Africa’s “rainbow nation” (as he nicknamed it at the dawn of democracy) the legacy of ’The Arch’ – as he is affectionately known – have been lighting up the country since he passed away on Sunday, 26 December 2021 at the age of 90.
Since Sunday night – Table Mountain, City Hall and Tutu’s favourite cathedral – St George’s Cathedral – have been illuminated in purple light, to remember and honour “Cape Town’s greatest resident and all that he stood for,” the City’s mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said in a statement.
Desmond Tutu was the city’s first black archbishop during the apartheid era – a position he used to speak out against the racist regime.
“I hope also that the image will be a reminder to the world of the great challenges South Africa has overcome, of the great people who helped us to overcome those challenges, and that by following in the Arch’s example, every one of us can also make a positive difference in the world,” mayor Hill-Lewis said.
The bells of St George’s Cathedral have been rung for ten minutes each day from midday until his funeral on New Year’s Day – this coming Saturday.
Cape Town Archbishop Thabo Makgoba has asked for those who hear the bells to pause in tribute to Tutu.
PICS: Table Mountain in Cape Town lit up in honour of The Arch.
