The tributes paid to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, whose death was announced yesterday, highlight the extraordinary contribution he made to the fight against the evils of apartheid in South Africa. They also illustrate the significant role he played in the process of post-apartheid reconciliation. Tutu is credited with coining the term “rainbow nation” to describe what was hoped would be the country’s end destination: a multi-ethnic democracy, in which different groups could live side by side in peace and prosperity.

The archbishop was one of the last of what President Cyril Ramaphosa has described as a “generation of outstanding South Africans who have bequeathed us a liberated South Africa”. Sadly, the fine qualities of figures such as Tutu and Nelson Mandela have not necessarily been emulated in the generation of politicians that has led the country since the 2000s. Corruption, economic difficulties and social strife have all proliferated, particularly in recent years. 

Tutu said in 2013 that he would no longer vote for the ruling African National Congress party. It is clear that he felt that some of the promise of the new South Africa had been squandered, and that the dream of a “rainbow nation” had been overshadowed by subsequent misgovernment.

None the less, it is surely in part down to his good humour, courage and moral fortitude that South Africa has escaped the tragic fate of Zimbabwe, which has spiralled ever further into economic misery and political repression. As well as honouring Tutu’s exceptional life, South Africa’s leaders would do well to follow the practical example he set.