Judith February is a lawyer and author of ‘Turning and Turning: Exploring the Complexities of South Africa’s Democracy’ (PanMacmillan)
In his eulogy to Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu on New Year’s Day, President Cyril Ramaphosa said, ‘He has left us at another difficult time in the life of our nation. Problems and challenges abound, and they are everywhere.’
When “The Arch” died on 26 December 2021, there was a national and global outpouring of grief for a man whose extraordinary life was tied up in the complexity of our country’s history. Thousands of people across the country paid homage to Tutu in their own way, through church services, laying a flower outside St George’s Cathedral or writing in the many condolence books.
The City of Cape Town lit up buildings and iconic Table Mountain in the purple so synonymous with the Arch. Collective expressions of grief matter, after all.
Ours is a country well versed in loss. On Christmas Day, a Limpopo man killed seven members of his own family. The loss because of violence is so commonplace, we are inured to it. And then there is the everyday loss brought on by poverty and deepening inequality. This week will see…