KINGSTON, Jamaica-Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Opposition leader, Mark Golding are today mourning the passing of South African equality activist, Desmond Tutu.

Tutu died at the Oasis Frail Care Center in Cape Town on Sunday. He was 90 years old.

Labelling Tutu one of his “personal heroes”, Holness said the Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist was a man of “peace, dignity and goodwill; a man of God who, with grace and humility, overcame a system of oppression and cruelty.”

“Desmond Tutu is one of my personal heroes. We mourn his passing, but his life, work, and example give us much to celebrate and emulate. He is a man of peace, dignity and goodwill; a man of God who, with grace and humility, overcame a system of oppression and cruelty. May his soul Rest In Peace and his example shine eternally,” Holness’ statement to his social media platforms read.

In the meantime, Golding, who referred to the late Tutu as an “iconic human rights advocate,” said the world has lost someone who was loved for his “humility and commitment to non-violent change.”

“This morning the world lost an iconic human rights advocate with the passing of Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu. He played a critical role in the strugle to liberate South Africa from apartheid, and was a leading light in achieving progress for reconciliation in the post-apartheid era,” a part of the opposition leader’s statement read. “A winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Archbishop Tutu came to be revered and loved across the world for his loving humility and commitment to non-violent change, based on his deep Christian beliefs.”

“This extraordinary yet humble man never gave up the struggle, but was always willing to forgive, and the World is better for it. We salute Archbishop Desmond Tutu,” it ended.

Before his death, Tutu had been hospitalised several times since 2015, after being diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1997.