Welcome to Africanews

Please select your experience

Watch Live

News

news

South Africa: Anti-apartheid campaigner Desmond Tutu hospitalized

South Africa

South African anti-apartheid campaigner Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s family says that he has admitted himself to a Cape Town hospital for treatment of a recurring infection.

The statement issued late Wednesday by his family said the 84-year-old is expected to remain in hospital for a week or two.

Tutu underwent similar treatment last year.

Tutu, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his efforts to end apartheid in South Africa, has remained active with the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation and other organizations.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu admitted to Cape Town hospital for treatment of a “recurring infection,” family says. https://t.co/Jh8qoALw5f

— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) August 24, 2016

Tutu was hospitalised three times in 2015 over a persistent infection that his foundation – the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation – said was a result of the prostate cancer treatment he has been receiving for nearly 20 years.

He played a key role in South Africa’s transition from the apartheid era, including serving as chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission at the direction of then-President Nelson Mandela.