Tutu marks his 80th birthday with church service and African dancing

Archbishop desmond Tutu, a symbol of South Africa's quest for peace, celebrated his 80th birthday yesterday in the church where he preached against apartheid – days after saying that the former liberation movement now in power was in some ways even worse.

Rock stars, parishioners and politicians packed St George's Cathedral in Cape Town for the service in his honour.

A day earlier, in another birthday celebration, the diminutive Dr Tutu had taken to the stage with an African dance troupe.

The global statesman, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for speaking out against white minority rule, is widely seen as South Africa's moral compass.