"Like falling in love" is how Archbishop Desmond Tutu described voting in South Africa's first democratic election in 1994, a remark that captured both his puckish humour and his profound emotions after decades fighting apartheid.

Desmond Mpilo Tutu, the Nobel Peace laureate whose moral might permeated South African society during apartheid's darkest hours and into the unchartered territory of new democracy, died on Sunday. He was 90.

The outspoken Tutu was considered the nation's conscience by both Black and white people, an enduring testament to his faith and spirit of reconciliation in a divided nation.