South Africa has not fulfilled the vision that it had when it obtained its liberation from apartheid 26 years ago, archbishop Desmond Tutu foundation said on Monday.

“The democratic South Africa that celebrates its 26th birthday today is not the fair and just country that it should be – that many in 1994 dreamed it would be,” read a statement from the Desmond and Leah Tutu Foundation.

“This cannot be blamed on the coronavirus. If anything, the virus has done the country a ghastly favour by exposing the unsustainable foundations on which it is built… that must be urgently fixed,” it continued.

Like the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the Tutu's foundation said it is impossible to celebrate freedom when many in the country remained impoverished.

“Celebrating the spirit of Freedom Day today means powerfully accelerating the need for food, security, human rights and dignity for our all our vulnerable sisters and  brothers,” it said.

They called for reflection and selflessness.

“That is the promise Freedom Day brings in the time of the coronavirus crisis, the promise of reaching beyond ourselves and rediscovering our inter-dependent soul, obligations and humanity.”