By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has granted the renonwed photographer and anti-apartheid activist Peter Magubane a Special Provincial Official Funeral Category 2.
Ramaphosa has ordered that the national flag be flown at half-mast in Gauteng on the day of his funeral.
Magubane who passed away on Monday, cut his teeth as a photojournalist during apartheid and at the height of political segregation and oppression of the black majority in South Africa.
Magubane’s funeral will take place on Wednesday next week. It will be preceded by a memorial service at the Regina Mundi Church in Soweto.
Ramaphosa was among those who have expressed their condolences following the passing of the 91-year-old icon.
“I have learned with great sadness of the passing of… Peter Magubane. On behalf of government and the nation, I offer my deep condolences to the Magubane family, our veteran’s friends and his countless associates around the country and globally,” said Ramaphosa.
Premier Panyaza Lesufi has welcomed the President’s decision saying it is a well-deserved recognition for Magubane.
Magubane was born on 18 January 1932 Vrededorp (now Pageview, a suburb of Johannesburg), and grew up in Sophiatown.
In 1954, he read a copy of Drum magazine, which detailed the effects of apartheid. He decided he wanted to be part of the magazine.
Magubane started employment at Drum as a driver. After six months of odd jobs, he was given a photography assignment under the mentorship of Jürgen Schadeberg, the chief photographer. He covered the 1955 African National Congress (ANC) convention.
Magubane photographed most of South Africa’s historic moments, such as Sharpeville in 1960 and Nelson Mandela’s Rivonia trial in 1964.
He was arrested in June 1969 while photographing protesters outside Pretoria Central Prison, where Winnie Madikizela Mandela was jailed. Magubane was later held in solitary confinement for 586 days.
Magubane has worked for Rand Daily Mail and has worked on assignments for Time magazine, the United Nations and Sports Illustrated photographing a series about the South African teenage runner, Zola Budd.
Following Mandela’s release from prison, Magubane became his official photographer in 1990, until he became the country’s President.
Magubane received several prestigious awards and honours throughout his illustrious career. Some of the notable recognitions he received include the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Press Photographers’ Association (NPPA).