(Seychelles News Agency) - The President of Seychelles, Wavel Ramkalawan, has expressed his profound sadness upon hearing the news of the passing of South African Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, State House said on Sunday.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, an anti-apartheid and human rights activist, died on Sunday at the age of 90.

Ramkalawan paid tribute to the commitment, hard work and courage of Archbishop Tutu in the struggle to end apartheid, the freedom of Nelson Mandela and for stepping forward to ensure peace and stability in South Africa.

"The image of the short black Archbishop with the loudest voice preaching peace and reconciliation got him the Noble Prize together with Nelson Mandela and Frederick De Clerk. His truthfulness and determination in the struggle are qualities that humanity will never forget. He was a personal inspiration in my own struggle," said Ramkalawan.

Tutu won the Nobel Prize in 1984 for his non-violent opposition to white minority and a decade later he witnessed the end of the regime

As an Anglican priest, Ramkalawan met Archbishop Tutu together with Archbishop French Chang-Him in Belfast, Ireland, when he was serving as the Provincial Secretary of the Province of the Indian Ocean, which comprises Mauritius, Madagascar and Seychelles.

The head of state of the island nation in the western Indian Ocean has sent a message of condolences to the family of Archbishop Desmond Tutu on behalf of the people of Seychelles and on his personal name.