Yesterday was South Africa’s state funeral for the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who died on Sunday 26th December 2021.
His death was mourned by millions as he was an icon for social justice. A moral giant. A colossus. An implacable and tenacious opponent of apartheid. A powerful pilgrim on earth. Devout and compassionate Christian. Feisty cleric. Man of impish humour. Spiritual leader. Defender of just causes, irrespective of how unpopular they were. The country’s moral conscience. A prophet. His was a life of activism on behalf of the oppressed. Archbishop Tutu was all these things and more. Our deepest condolences to his family, his friends, colleagues and the multitude who share this deep loss.
Those of us in this campaign who knew him personally or through our organisational work in faith-based organisations, anti-apartheid structures, NGOs, the liberation movement, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission or as development activists and as citizens can best honour a life spent in serving humanity by continuing in the path of what he believed in.
Tutu was not scared to challenge the powerful when justice was at stake.
As Sello Hatang put it, what Tutu believed in and what we must all defend is the “freedom to claim your right to speak truth to power”.
We are speaking truth to the powerful entities that have made the rezoning and environmental authorisation decisions regarding the River Club that we believe are invalid and undermine human rights. We are speaking truth to powerful corporations that have wealth and influence.
To quote Richard Calland, “Speaking truth to power is one of the great modern clichés. Tutu made it matter.”
Make the Liesbeek Matter by supporting our struggle.
We are in court on the 19th to 21st January 2022 to challenge the decisions that allowed this redevelopment of the River Club to proceed. We need your financial support to pursue this court challenge. Please consider assisting us with the legal fees. You can contribute at our fundraising site.
You can also visit our website and follow the Liesbeek Action Campaign on twitter: @LiesbeekAction.