Day: December 26, 2021

President Hage Geingob has extended his condolences to the people of South Africa following the death of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, describing him as a dedicated freedom fighter during the liberation struggle.

Tutu died in Cape Town on Sunday at the age of 90.

In his message issued by the Office of the Presidency on Sunday, Geingob described Tutu as a man of strong conviction and an anti-apartheid icon who stood firm during the liberation struggles of both South Africa and Namibia.

“’The Arch’ as he was affectionately known, symbolised resilience and courage in the face of adversity and optimism during a period of hopelessness. His unrelenting commitment to the universal values of peace, unity, solidarity, freedom and justice for the people of our region triumphed when Namibia gained independence in 1990 and apartheid rule was dismantled in South Africa in 1994,” said Geingob.

President Geingob further said Namibians, and the people of the region, owe Tutu the global figure and exceptional man of God, a huge debt of gratitude for his indelible footprint, especially in the fight for freedom and justice against oppression, racism and white minority rule.

He added that although devastating, the passing of “the last man standing”, Archbishop Tutu is a sharp reminder of the need to continue with his message of holding hands in the pursuit of unity for a better and brighter future for the people of Namibia and the African region.

“On behalf of the people and the Government of the Republic of Namibia, I wish to extend sincere condolences to his wife, Nomalizo Leah Tutu, the children, the entire family and the people of South Africa,” Geingob said.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

Bickering Somali leaders have once again disagreed on already delayed elections in the Horn of Africa country, paving the way for another political crisis as the international community calls for dialogue to speed up the electoral process.

Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, popularly known as Farmajo, and his Prime Minister, Mohamed Hussein Roble, have argued again over the process, which is already behind schedule.

The head of state blamed the prime minister for failing to uphold a mandate to lead the country through elections, based on what has come to be known as the September 17th agreement of 2020. The agreement would allow 101 delegates to select members of parliament, who would choose the next head of the state.

In response, the prime minister rejected the call and maintained his commitment to lead a free and fair election process. Roble added that Farmajo’s criticism is aimed at disrupting the ongoing process.

The members of the opposition were quick to throw their weight behind the prime minister, who was tasked with conducting the elections following a political agreement on governing the process back in May.

Former President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who is among key candidates challenging the incumbent, reiterated the significance of expediting the electoral process to avoid setbacks.

He said, “We don’t have other options than that of the prime minister in convening the national consultative forum to discuss the challenges on the disagreed poll process, which we have been stressing from Day One.”

Somali security agencies backed by African Union peacekeepers have beefed up security during the electoral process but experts warn that the continued spat involving the country’s leadership is concerning.

Dahir Korow is a political analyst who believes there is a need for quick steps forward.

“The Somali citizens are losing confidence in their leadership over continued election wrangles; the international community is also frustrated with lack of commitment by the leaders, on the other hand, the threats by al Shabab are growing; therefore, there is need for compromise to conduct credible polls,” said Korow.

By al-Shabab, he was referring to the militant group. For years, it has fought the central government in a bid to seize power and impose a strict version of Islamic law known as Sharia.

This latest political crisis linked to elections comes as hundreds of Somalis affected by severe drought wait for humanitarian assistance. Drought and famine in Somalia have been attributed to climate change.

Source: Voice of America

The world is reflecting on the legacy of South African anti-apartheid icon Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, who died Sunday. The Nobel Peace laureate was known worldwide as a champion of human rights.

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu is being remembered for his efforts in transforming South Africa into the free Rainbow Nation it is today.

“The Arch” as he was known, died at the age of 90 in Cape Town.

Tutu’s peaceful activism against the country’s apartheid government is ttributed to the avoidance of widespread conflict.

As chair of the country’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, he showed the world resolution could be attained without violence.

Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela is the research chair in historical trauma and transformation at Stellenbosch University in South Africa.

“After so much tragedy, after so much violence, that sense of hope, that sense of possibility that victims and perpetrators can actually engage in a dialogue, in a way that is much more hopeful than what a vengeful kind of approach offers; that is the legacy of Archbishop Desmond Tutu,” she said.

Tutu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his activism.

The international recognition Tutu received never changed his values of equality and public servitude.

Imtiaz Sooliman is chairman and founder of the charity Gift of the Givers and worked with the archbishop.

“When we visited him in Cape Town for the first time, you have this feeling you’re coming to this great man, you know, and how are you going to approach him? He was so easy when you walked in — simply dressed, simple office, such humility…. He was so warm and the embrace that he gave us was so gentle and so caring, you could just see this man exuding love all over,” he said.

Tutu was unaffected by political affiliations as well.

He continued campaigning for equality long after South Africa became a free democracy.

Gobodo-Madikizela says Tutu applied the same scrutiny to the now-ruling African National Congress as he did to apartheid leaders.

“Right after the leadership of Nelson Mandela, he again continued as that voice that was reminding the post-apartheid leaders about the promise of freedom for everybody,” she said. “When he could see that they were leading in a way that was self-serving, he called them out…. His boldness, his moral stature allowed him to do that.”

Gobodo-Madikizela says his criticism fell on deaf ears among many in the ruling party that underwent a national corruption inquiry this year.

Tutu’s campaign to tackle extreme inequality with a wealth tax also remains unfinished. Experts say his death is a moment to reinvigorate the public to take on issues he was passionate about.

June Bam-Hutchison is a researcher with the Center for African Studies at the University of Cape Town.

“The one thing that we’re sort of losing grip on in the everyday is the values, the values of peace, of anti-violence, of an inclusive anti-racism, and non-racialism. … And we need to be reminded now that we’ve lost to Archbishop Tutu that we need to revisit those principles,” she said.

From the head of the African Union to the Dalai Lama, leaders worldwide have been sharing tributes calling Tutu an inspiration to the world.

He is survived by his wife, children, siblings and their families.

Source: Voice of America

1931 – Oct. 7 – Desmond Mpilo Tutu is born in Klerksdorp, near Johannesburg.

1947 – Contracts tuberculosis, as he recuperates, he is visited by Trevor Huddleston, a British Anglican pastor working in South Africa.

1955 – Marries Nomalizo Leah Shenxane and begins teaching at a secondary school in Johannesburg.

1961 – Is ordained as a minister in the Anglican church, after quitting teaching in disgust at South Africa’s apartheid government’s inferior education for Blacks.

1962 – Studies theology at King’s College London.

1966 – Returns to South Africa to teach at a seminary in the Eastern Cape.

1975 – Becomes the Anglican Church’s first Black dean of Johannesburg.

1976 – Serves as Bishop of Lesotho and voices criticism of apartheid in South Africa.

1978 – Becomes general-secretary of the South African Council of Churches and achieves global prominence as a leading opponent of apartheid, supports economic sanctions to achieve majority rule in South Africa.

1984 – Wins Nobel Peace Prize – “There is no peace in southern Africa. There is no peace because there is no justice. There can be no real peace and security until there be first justice enjoyed by all the inhabitants of that beautiful land,” Tutu says in his acceptance speech.

1985 – Becomes the first Black bishop of Johannesburg.

1986 – Is ordained the first Black Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town.

1989 – Leads anti-apartheid march of 30,000 people through Cape Town.

1990 – Hosts Nelson Mandela for his first night of freedom after Mandela is released from prison after being held for 27 years for his opposition to apartheid. Mandela calls Tutu “the people’s archbishop.”

1994 – Votes in South Africa’s first democratic election in which all races can cast ballots.

1995 – President Nelson Mandela appoints Tutu to be chairman of the country’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

1996 – Tutu retires as prelate, the Anglican Church gives him the title of Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town.

1997 – Is diagnosed with prostate cancer and announces it to help with public awareness of the disease.

1998 – Truth and Reconciliation Commission publishes its report, putting most of the blame for abuses on the forces of apartheid, but also finds the African National Congress guilty of human rights violations. The ANC sues to block the document’s release, earning a rebuke from Tutu.

2009 – Aug. 12 – Receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom from U.S. President Barack Obama.

2010 – July 22 – Retires from public life, tells press: “Don’t call me, I’ll call you.”

2013 – Launches international campaign for LGBTQ rights in Cape Town. “I would not worship a God who is homophobic.”

2014 – July 12 – Urges the British parliament to allow assisted dying, saying, “The manner of Nelson Mandela’s prolonged death was an affront.”

2021 – Oct. 7 – Frail, in a wheelchair, Tutu attends his 90th birthday celebration at St. George’s Cathedral in Cape Town.

2021 – Dec. 26 – Tutu dies in Cape Town.

Source: Voice of America