Archbishop Desmond Tutu used to be a great guy, the voice of reason.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu used to be a great guy, the voice of reason.
That seems so long ago and nowadays he seems like a pitiful shadow of that once great soul. His pronouncements on most issues are emotional.
The fact that nobody ever talks back after his pronouncements has given him false confidence, even a "cynical arrogance", to borrow his own words.
The ousting of Thabo Mbeki, seen by Tutu as having ". put South Africa on a path to becoming a banana republic", means that he doesn't know the meaning of "banana republic" or is himself going bananas.
Earlier this year he spoke strongly against Jacob Zuma's candidacy for party president. He said: "I pray that someone will be able to counsel him that the most dignified, most selfless thing, the best thing he could do for a land he loves deeply is to declare his decision not to take further part in the succession of his party."
What condescending selfrighteousness! At the rate he is going he risks South Africans forgetting who he used to be.
I want to reassure Tutu that we are not going to become a banana republic, mostly because banana republic presidents don't leave office unless they die.
As a democracy, we should celebrate the ousting of Mbeki as a healthy precedent. It is going to make things very difficult in future for leaders who harbour tyrannical tendencies.
Moss Mashamaite, Johannesburg
Tutu no longer voice of reason
Archbishop Desmond Tutu used to be a great guy, the voice of reason.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu used to be a great guy, the voice of reason.
That seems so long ago and nowadays he seems like a pitiful shadow of that once great soul. His pronouncements on most issues are emotional.
The fact that nobody ever talks back after his pronouncements has given him false confidence, even a "cynical arrogance", to borrow his own words.
The ousting of Thabo Mbeki, seen by Tutu as having ". put South Africa on a path to becoming a banana republic", means that he doesn't know the meaning of "banana republic" or is himself going bananas.
Earlier this year he spoke strongly against Jacob Zuma's candidacy for party president. He said: "I pray that someone will be able to counsel him that the most dignified, most selfless thing, the best thing he could do for a land he loves deeply is to declare his decision not to take further part in the succession of his party."
What condescending selfrighteousness! At the rate he is going he risks South Africans forgetting who he used to be.
I want to reassure Tutu that we are not going to become a banana republic, mostly because banana republic presidents don't leave office unless they die.
As a democracy, we should celebrate the ousting of Mbeki as a healthy precedent. It is going to make things very difficult in future for leaders who harbour tyrannical tendencies.
Moss Mashamaite, Johannesburg