The first thing that crosses my mind when I think of the late Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, is the sense of humility he had. I certainly observed that when I met him in November 1994. We were at a funeral of another human rights activist who was assassinated, professor Johan Heyns.

I was about to greet him and he quickly made sure that he greeted me first, and I was so overwhelmed by such humility from a man of his stature. I cannot forget the role he played in 1985, when an angry mob was about to throw a man who was severely beaten onto his burning vehicle. The man was accused of being a police informer. Risking his life in that atrocious situation, Tutu pleaded with that angry mob not to kill the man...