 The coffin carrying the body of Archbishop Desmond Tutu has departed St George's Cathedral in Cape Town this first day evening. Details in this report. In a simple pine coffin, the mortal remains of Archbishop Desmond Tutu arrived at his final resting place on Thursday. The anti-apartheid icon will lie in state at Cape Town St George's Cathedral, ahead of his funeral at the weekend. South Africans formed long queues outside the church from the early hours, for their chance to bid farewell to the man known as Tata, or father. Among them was Cape Town resident Mamello Letsuper. Tutu always used his voice to the benefit of others, to the benefit that, you know, on the sidelines of society. So I'm here to commemorate that, to pay my respect. Tutu died on Sunday aged 90. Nobel laureate had requested the cheapest coffin and did not want any lavish funeral expense. A requiem mass funeral service will be held on Saturday, where President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to deliver a eulogy. The cathedral, where Tutu served as the first black Archbishop of Cape Town, was a safe haven for anti-apartheid activists during repressive white minority rule. Tutu will be cremated and his remains interred behind the pulpit, from which he often preached against racial injustice.