Speaking at a memorial service for veteran anti-apartheid politician Helen Suzman in Johannesburg yesterday, Tutu said the country needed people in public office who are ‘‘principled’’ and not driven by the arrogance of power.

‘‘We want those who are holding public office, our representatives, to be principled persons, persons whom we can be proud to look up to and not [an] embarrassment that need to be defended,’’ he said.

Among the high-profile guests who attended the memorial were former president Thabo Mbeki and his wife Zanele, mining magnate Nicky Oppenheimer, IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi, DA leader Helen Zille and apartheid activist and academic Mamphela Ramphele.

Ramphele said South Africa stood at the crossroads of democracy and that the country was tolerant of corruption and a culture of impunity.

“Our freedom is at risk. We are witnessing election violence, both physical and verbal, we must stand up like Helen. We owe it to our democracy to stand up and be counted,” she said.

Tutu said Suzman gave the apartheid government sleepless nights and was not afraid to speak truth to power . Turning to present-day politics, he said the public discourse should not ‘‘sink to the gutter’’.

‘‘Debates can be vigorous, animated, but in the end it has to be the cogency of the argument and not the loudness and barbarity of language that should win the day.’’

He warned that those who had become arrogant had also become drunk with power.

In his address, Buthelezi said that Suzman deserved greater recognition for her contribution to the struggle.

Zille said Suzman was a passionate champion of freedom, a woman who stood for simple justice, equal opportunity and human rights.