The archbishop who laughed, danced and wept: Desmond Tutu and South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission

During the hearings of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Archbishop Desmond Tutu sometimes put his head on the table and wept. The testimonies of victims were too much. Then he would lift his head and continue.

Desmond Mpilo Tutu was born in Klerksdorp, South Africa, in 1931. He trained as a teacher but left the profession after the apartheid government introduced Bantu Education, which was designed to give black children an inferior education. He was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1961 and studied theology in London.

Against apartheid

Tutu became Dean of Johannesburg, Bishop of Lesotho and General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches. From that position he became one of the world’s best known opponents of apartheid, calling for sanctions against the South African government and preaching nonviolence.

In 1984, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Two years later he became Archbishop of Cape Town, the first black person to lead the Anglican Church in southern Africa.

The rainbow nation

When apartheid ended and Nelson Mandela was elected president in 1994, Tutu coined the phrase “rainbow nation” to describe the new South Africa.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission

In 1995, Mandela appointed Tutu to chair the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It began hearings in 1996, giving victims of apartheid-era abuses a chance to tell their stories and offering amnesty to perpetrators who fully disclosed their crimes. The hearings were broadcast and exposed torture, killings and disappearances.

The commission’s approach was rooted in Tutu’s Christian faith and in the African idea of ubuntu, that a person is a person through other people. Critics said many perpetrators escaped justice. Supporters said it helped South Africa avoid a cycle of revenge.

A critic of all governments

Tutu criticised the ANC government when he believed it was failing, including over corruption and its response to HIV and AIDS. He campaigned for LGBT rights, climate action and Palestinian rights, and he was outspoken on many global issues.

Laughter

Tutu was known for his laughter, his dancing and his humour. He would giggle during serious speeches and joke with world leaders.

Death

Tutu died in Cape Town on 26 December 2021, aged 90. At his request, his funeral was simple, and his body was aquamated, an eco-friendly alternative to cremation.

He had asked for the cheapest coffin available. The man who stood up to presidents wanted to leave the world as simply as he had lived in it.