HAPPY DAYS: Archbishop Desmond Tutu shares a joke with Amina Cachalia and Nomonde Calata during a ceremony at Rhodes University in Grahamstown on Wednesday evening Picture: DAVID MACGREGOR
VETERAN anti-apartheid icon Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s quirky sense of humour had Rhodes University students wiping away the tears on Wednesday night as he gave them advice on how to win a Nobel peace prize.
“It is easy – you need three things. First you must have an easy name like Tutu … ‘Tu-tu’,” he sounded out the syllables to chuckles from the audience, before adding: “You must [also] have a large nose and sexy legs.”
Although Tutu poked fun at himself, it was not all jokes as he also dished out pearls of wisdom to dignitaries at the naming of several campus buildings after himself, fellow struggle stalwart Amina Cachalia and the late Ellen Kuzwayo and Fort Calata.
Recalling how touched he was when Calata’s widow, Nomonde, let out a spine- chilling shriek during her testimony at a Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearing in Port Elizabeth, Tutu said her heartache was “the cry of anguish of South Africa”. Nomonde, who was pregnant when Calata and three other Cradock activists were brutally butchered 26 years ago by apartheid agents, was comforted by Tumani – the daughter her husband never saw or held – as she wiped away the tears.
“You are honouring incredible people here. These are some of the people you want to emulate,” Tutu said. “As an old man I feel a sense of relief that we can leave our world to you.”
A tearful Nomonde earlier told students and dignitaries at the naming of Calata residence in honour of her teacher husband, Fort and his activist grandfather, Anglican Reverend Canon James Arthur Calata, that her world stood still when she heard he had been killed.
However, she admitted she felt stronger when she recalled how her husband inspired others to educate themselves better.
During each of the naming ceremonies, students living in each residence read out pledges dedicated to the ideals of the leaders they were honouring.
These included: never giving in to defeat, to uphold and treasure integrity, to make a difference in the community, and not to be ignorant of South Africa’s diverse races and cultures.
Amina Cachalia, who attended with her daughter Coco, said she was especially proud that the students had chosen to honour her in naming their residence.
“The significance of this naming ceremony of the hall and residence lies precisely in the fact that it represents a new beginning, the rebirth and renewal of Rhodes University as it embarks on the journey of transformation, which will link the university to the communities that were hidden from history and to the world beyond.”
She said the new names embraced diversity by giving meaning to the far-reaching vision of the Freedom Charter that South Africa belongs to everyone who lives in it – black and white.
Ellen Kuzwayo’s grandson Boitumelo urged students to work hard and treasure wisdom and education.
During the visit, Tutu made time to meet and greet students and even patiently posed for photographs with a giggling gaggle of girls, who treated him more like a rock star than an 80-year-old human rights icon.
Vice-chancellor Dr Saleem Badat said although Rhodes tried to steer clear of naming buildings after living heroes, they were happy Tutu and Cachalia had agreed to join Nelson Mandela as living icons honoured by the university.
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Article source: http://www.dispatch.co.za/news/article/3021