CAPE TOWN: A musical memorial to South Africa’s revered anti-apartheid icon Desmond Tutu had a rabbi and a monk dancing in their seats on Wednesday as Cape Town said farewell to its first black Anglican Archbishop.
The colourful interfaith service at City Hall to Tutu, who died at the weekend, was attended by family members and politicians, and peaked with a rendition of the 1980 chart-topper “Paradise Road”. The hit, which became an unofficial anthem for the struggle against apartheid, was emotionally performed by bare-footed South African singer Zolani Mahola. Tutu died peacefully at a care centre on Sunday, just three months after his 90th birthday, prompting tributes to pour in from around the world.
Ahead of his funeral on Saturday numerous events are being held across South Africa to remember the apartheid foe and stalwart of the liberation struggle, who was also an outspoken critic of human rights abuses across the world. He coined the phrase “Rainbow Nation” at the advent of South Africa’s democracy, and that ideal was on full display at the memorial on Wednesday night.
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