Archbishop Desmond Tutu – a reflection
A frail, but still fighting retired Archbishop of
Cape Town in South Africa,
Desmond Tutu brought up his 90th birthday last
Thursday, October 7.
Archbishop Tutu is a remarkable man. He is, like
Nelson Mandela and Steve
Biko, the reason for South
Africa’s return from the dungeon, following years of white supremacy rule under Apartheid. By 1994 when South Africa came to be governed by black people, he was on his way out as Archbishop of Cape Town, and in another two years he had exited the pulpit from which he had denounced white domination for decades.
Nine years later, I met Archbishop Tutu and his wife Leah at a World AIDS Day event in December 2003. Interestingly, I was among three journalists from around the world given the opportunity to ask questions at the function, and mine was posed to Tutu.
By late lunch time, around 2:00, I was granted the privilege of a seat next to the great man at a restaurant on the waterfront. His wife completed the flank. I believe it was because I was Jamaican why I got that treatment, because Archbishop kept mentioning Jamaica’s role in the struggle, highlighting former Prime Minister Michael Manley, and Bob Marley’s music.
As we dined, a waiter was busy taking orders for drinks. “Anything for you, Archbishop?” “Yes, I will have a rum and coke”, the great Desmond responded. I joined him in that combination.
Twenty minutes later, the waiter returned, “Another rum and coke for you, Archbishop?” Desmond looked at his wife, then belatedly answered, “Oh yes, I will have one more.”
When the second round was completed, around 15 minutes after, the said waiter walked towards the Archbishop, chest held high...”archbishop, another rum and coke for you?” “No!” responded the bass-like voice of his wife, long before the man of the cloth could get a verbal punch in. “He has had more than enough!” his wife said in justifying her action.
At the end, two of four flasks of Appleton Rum that I had taken to South Africa were in my brief case. I slipped one out and handed it to the Archbishop’s driver for him to pass the baton when the coast was clear. It is anybody’s guess if that race was completed.