"It's difficult to believe that people are pocketing so much money, and have so much privilege, while the masses suffer in shacks"

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu lambasted the government at a Cape Town publishing event, saying that democracy in the country had turned into a nightmare, the Beeld reported on Tuesday.

He was speaking on Monday night at the launch of struggle veteran Michael Lapsley’s book “Redeeming the Past”, which was attended by many high-ranking government officials, among them the Deputy Minister of International Relations and Co-operation and ANC Western Cape leader, Marius Fransman.

According to the newspaper, Tutu reportedly screamed at the government, and asked: “What the devil are you doing?” 

The Archbishop became very emotional, and said he wished he could go to his grave knowing that the country was a good and peaceful one.

“But I ask myself, why were we in the struggle? The highest price was paid for freedom, but are we treating it as something precious?” 

He said it was unacceptable that 18 years into democracy, school children had no textbooks, and that there was no accountability for these situations.

“It's difficult to believe that people are pocketing so much money, and have so much privilege, while the masses suffer in shacks,” he said.

He also criticised those who enriched themselves because the ministerial handbook allowed it.

“It’s legal, but is it moral?” he reportedly asked.

“Please, please, please, come to your senses.

“Marikana felt like a nightmare, but this is what our 2012 democracy has become,” he said.