Archbishop Desmond Tutu, 86, has resigned as an ambassador for Oxfam, saying he is “deeply disappointed” about the charity’s sex scandal.
The South African, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist, said in a statement that he had decided to resign following allegations of “immorality and possible criminality” at Oxfam.
Tutu’s resignation came amid fresh turmoil at one of Britain’s biggest charities, which admitted last Thursday that it had rehired one of the workers it had sacked in a sexual misconduct scandal in the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake in 2010.
Winnie Byanyima, who became executive director of Oxfam International in 2013, told media she was saddened by what took place and that it could not happen under systems and rules put in place since.
“I feel deeply, deeply hurt. … What happened in Haiti was a few privileged men abusing the very people they were supposed to protect – using the power they had from Oxfam to abuse powerless women. It breaks my heart,” Byanyima said in an interview with Reuters TV in New York.
“We want to restore trust. We want to build that trust. We are committing to be honest, to be transparent and to be accountable in addressing this issue of sexual misconduct. We are in a different place today,” she said.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu in his resignation said he is deeply disappointed by allegations of immorality and possible criminality involving humanitarian workers linked to the charity.
He also descried the impact of the allegations on the “many thousands of good people who have supported Oxfam’s righteous work.
His office added he had now written to the charity “to inform them of his retirement as a global ambassador”.
By Staff Writer.
