Desmond Tutu vs Thabo Mbeki

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, well-known for his anti-apartheid credentials, delivered the 2nd Nelson Mandela Lecture in Johannesburg at the end of 2003 and stirred up a hornet’s nest in the process.

Part of his speech certainly touched a government nerve, forcing President Thabo Mbeki to hit back in his weekly online “Letter from the President” column that he writes for the ANC web-based journal, ANC Today. His response has since opened up a huge debate in South Africa – with Archbishhop Tutu’s supporters, particularly in the white-controlled media, praising his speech, whilst the ANC, though trying to calm tempers as the ruling party, has said Mbeki’s statement “reflected the views of the organisation on the matters raised by Archbishop Tutu”. Mbeki had told the archbishop, in part: “It would be good if those that present themselves as the greatest defenders of the poor should also demonstrate decent respect for the truth.” Tutu took this to mean having been accused of lying. “Thank you Mr President for telling me what you think of me. That I am a liar with scant regard for the truth and a charlatan posing with his concern for the poor, the hungry, the oppressed and the voiceless. I will continue to pray for you and your government by name daily as I have done and as I did even for the apartheid government,” Tutu said.

The ANC was compelled to step in to calm the waters. But its spokesman, Smuts Ngonyama, told the archbishop: “Neither the ANC nor its president regards you as ‘a liar with scant regard for the truth’, but we do recognise that even someone like yourself has the capacity to err… We will continue to regard you as a respected leader within our society whose contribution to the life of this country is highly valued… The archbishop should [however] remember that a debate is two sides talking and he must not cry when the ANC is talking back.”

Taken from NewAfrica