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Modest requiem for a titan: South Africa set for Tutu farewell
South Africa bids farewell on Saturday to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the last great hero in its struggle against apartheid.
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A woman carries a flower bouquet past a portrait of South African anti-apartheid icon Archbishop Desmond Tutu seen on the wall of remembrance outside the St George's Cathedral in Cape Town, on December 31, 2021. (AFP/Marco Longari)
S
outh Africa bids farewell on Saturday to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the last great hero in its struggle against apartheid, in a funeral set to be stripped of pomp but freighted with tears and smiles.
Tutu died last Sunday at the age of 90, triggering grief among South Africans and tributes from world leaders for a life spent fighting injustice.
Famous for his modesty, Tutu gave instructions for a simple, no-frills ceremony, with a cheap coffin, donations for charity instead of floral tributes and an eco-friendly cremation.
The requiem mass will start at 10 am (0800 GMT) at Cape Town's St. George's Cathedral where, for years, Tutu used the pulpit to rail against a brutal white minority regime.
The eulogy will be delivered by President Cyril Ramaphosa, who will then hand South Africa's multicoloured flag to Tutu's widow, Leah -- a reminder of her husband's description of the post-apartheid country as the "Rainbow Nation".
South Africa has been marking a week of mourning, culminating with two days of lying in state.
Several thousand people, some of whom had travelled across the country, filed past a diminutive rope-handled casket made of pine, adorned simply by a bunch of carnations.
