Archbishop Desmond Tutu has been readmitted to a South African hospital after he started showing signs of infection after surgery he had earlier this month, his family said Saturday.
The 84-year-old Nobel laureate had spent three weeks in a Cape Town hospital, from last month until Wednesday, to receive treatment for a recurring infection, and he had minor surgery to address the issue.
On Saturday, his wife, Leah, said that the surgical wound itself was showing signs of infection.
Tutu underwent hospital tests for a persistent infection in 2013. A year later, he canceled travel plans because of a long-running battle with prostate cancer, first diagnosed in 1997.
Tutu, the first black archbishop of Cape Town, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his efforts to end apartheid. In his later years, he has remained active with the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation and other organizations.
Tutu played a key role in South Africa’s transition from the apartheid era, including serving as chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission at the direction of then-President Nelson Mandela.
