Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa

South Africa’s anti- apartheid icon, Archbishop Desmond Tutu is dead.

The Nobel Peace prize laureate who was prominent partof the struggle that led to the end of apartheid in South Africa, was 90.

He died early Sunday morning and tributes are already pouring in from leaders all over the world in acknowledgment of his contributions to the struggle to liberate South Africa from white domination.

In his tribute, President Cyril Ramaphosa said Tutu death marked “another chapter of bereavement in our nation’s farewell to a generation of outstanding South Africans”.

He added that the deceased was “an iconic spiritual leader, anti-apartheid activist and global human rights campaigner”.

He further described him as “a patriot without equal; a leader of principle and pragmatism who gave meaning to the biblical insight that faith without works is dead.

“A man of extraordinary intellect, integrity and invincibility against the forces of apartheid, he was also tender and vulnerable in his compassion for those who had suffered oppression, injustice and violence under apartheid, and oppressed and downtrodden people around the world.”

One of the best known leader of South Africa globally, Tutu was awarded the Nobel prize in 1984 for his role in the struggle to end the apartheid system.