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Cape Town local remembers Archbishop Desmond Tutu

EYDER PERALTA, HOST:

And speaking of gifts, we'll close this hour remembering a great one - Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The Arch - as he was known to his Anglican parishioners in Cape Town and to the rest of South Africa, which, along with Nelson Mandela, he helped lead out of apartheid - died today. Akhi Khan was reflecting outside of St George's Cathedral in Cape Town, where the Arch used to deliver his powerful sermons.

AKHI KHAN: I think the Arch was a unique and wonderful - like Mandela - person that God gifted the Earth or the world, and I can't think of anybody with that kind of moral compass.

PERALTA: And Brent Goliath was dropping off flowers outside of the cathedral.

BRENT GOLIATH: His significance supersedes the boundaries of being an Anglican. It really supersedes it to the point of, you know, the time of being a freedom fighter. So his significance is multifaceted. I was very emotional this morning when I heard that he passed away. I thank God that he's been there for us.

(SOUNDBITE OF ROBERT GLASPER'S "RECKONER (LIVE AT CAPITOL STUDIOS/2014)")

PERALTA: This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Eyder Peralta. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.