Tutu set to retire from public life

NOBEL peace laureate Desmond Tutu announced yesterday that he is to retire from public life later this year when he turns 79.

He said "the time has now come to slow down" and spend more time with his family.

The former Anglican archbishop of Cape Town said that after his birthday on 7 October he would limit his time in the office to one day a week until February 2011.

"Instead of growing old gracefully at home with my family, reading and writing and praying and thinking, too much of my time has been spent at airports and in hotels," Tutu said.

"The time has now come to slow down, to sip Rooibos tea with my beloved wife in the afternoons, to watch cricket, to travel to visit my children and grandchildren, rather than to conferences and conventions and university campuses."

Recently, a jovial Tutu gave a speech to thunderous applause at the World Cup in South Africa and was seen dancing in his seat at the opening ceremony.