Source: Independent Online, Times (South Africa), Frost Illustrated, News24
Cape Town, South Africa -- The retired Archbishop of Cape Town and Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu paid glowing tribute Wednesday to anti-apartheid and gay rights activist Ivan Toms.

He said Toms had been physically small, "But what a dynamo for goodness, for justice, compassion," he said.

"He stood up for justice too against the awful wind of homophobia, as a gay person comfortable with his sexuality...

"I am thankful to God that he touched me, and I am a better man than I would have been without that touch."

Hundreds of people gathered to bid farewell to Toms in the cathedral where he once fasted in support of the "troops out of the townships" campaign.

Toms, who was the city's health director, died suddenly of cerebral meningitis in March. He was 55.

City manager Achmat Ebrahim said Toms had been no ordinary person, and had led no ordinary life.

"He was someone who knew exactly who he was, what he stood for and what he was prepared to suffer for," he said.

Among the mourners at St George's Cathedral in Cape Town were many of Toms' comrades from his End Conscription Campaign days, and from the period he did pioneering health-care work in Crossroads.

In 2002 Toms was appointed Cape Town's director of health, where he led the battle against tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, which included pioneering the use of antiretrovirals. He was also an outspoken advocate of gay rights and received the Order of the Baobab from President Thabo Mbeki for his "outstanding contribution to the struggle against apartheid and sexual discrimination."

His brother, Charles, said Toms had led a truly remarkable life, and though strong-willed and highly principled, had also been a "fun-loving party animal".

In an e-mail only weeks before his death, Toms had written to him: "We all need to live life to the full, in the present, rather than worry about the future."

City manager Achmat Ebrahim said Toms had been no ordinary person, and had led no ordinary life.

"He was someone who knew exactly who he was, what he stood for and what he was prepared to suffer for," he said.

In a sermon at the funeral, Tutu told the congregation that it was "almost like a struggle funeral, except that there is no teargas".

At a press conference afterwards, Tutu echoed some of the themes from his sermon when asked to address the current election crisis in Zimbabwe where longtime president Robert Mugabe's government has refused to release results of a recent election.

Tutu has urged Mugabe to accept his defeat at the polls.

"That is democracy. Democracy is when you change the government when the people decide," Tutu said after the Toms memorial service.

"When your time is over, your time is over. We hope the transition will be a peaceful one, relatively peaceful, and that Mr Mugabe will step down with dignity, gracefully," Tutu said.

He paid tribute to Mugabe’s pivotal role in the armed struggle that toppled the Rhodesian regime. Mugabe was "someone we were very proud of ...if he had stepped down 10 years ago he would be held in very high regard".

Full article: Hundreds honour anti-conscription activist | IOL
'Hamba khale, Ivan Toms' | News24.com
Anti-apartheid activist dies in Cape Town | Frost Illustrated
Pack your bags! | Times (South Africa)