By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The world mourned the passing of an iconic figure in photojournalism, Peter Magubane, who was laid to rest at the Fourways Memorial Park Cemetery on January 10.
Magubane was afforded a Special Provincial Official Funeral Category Two where President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered the eulogy.
The renowned photojournalist and freedom fighter garnered international praise for his pictures which captured the atrocities inflicted by the South African apartheid government.
The renowned photographer died on New Year’s Day at the age of 91.
Magubane’s funeral service took place at the Bryanston Methodist Church, north of Johannesburg, on Wednesday.
Among mourners was former president Thabo Mbeki, Gauteng Premier Panyanza Lesufi, Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Zizi Kodwa alongside veteran journalist Joe Tlholoe, as well as legendary actor Dr John Kani.
The South African flag was held up on the podium throughout the ceremony. Toward the end of the service, the members of the South African Police Service draped the coffin with Mzansi flag before it was ushered out with a guard of honour.
Ramaphosa told mourners that despite all attempts to break his spirit and take away his craft, Magubane refused to put down his camera.
Magubane gained worldwide fame for his photos, which painted vivid scenes of the meaning of everyday life in apartheid South Africa.
“He would smuggle his cameras, as we heard, into hollowed-out bread, and I try to imagine the imagery of how one takes out the inners of the loaves of bread and fits in a camera and proceeds to make it though that you are having your lunch from the bread as you are shooting pictures. He also put his camera in milk cartons, and we are even told that he even used the bible to take pictures without notice from the authorities,” Ramaphosa said.
“One of his best-known images is of a black domestic worker stroking the hair of a white child, sitting on a ‘Europeans only’ bench; it was able to transport the lived experiences of black people in South Africa to many people in distant lands across the world.
“Despite having his own job to do and his own deadlines to meet, he was always ready to help and to support fellow journalists who were working with him in the trenches, including the many foreign correspondents recording our horrible story at that time.”
Speaking at the funeral service, South African actor and author John Kani said Magubane’s camera also managed to expose police brutality during apartheid.
“…and the police didn’t fear so much, our stones and petrol bombs, they feared that camera because that camera exposed that brutality. If Peter was still ‘Bra Peter’, we would have deployed him to Gaza and we would have had better pictures. Not in the sense of being better but better in a desperate way.”
Magubane’s granddaughter, Lungile Magubane, said her grandfather should not be remembered only as a South African photojournalist.
“One of the notions I have been insisting on reiterating is that our grandfather was not just a photojournalist or a struggling photographer; he should be remembered as a multi-potential light, an artist who spent his life creating visual archives for the canon of South African cultural history.”
Magubane’s great-grandson Ntokozo Tshabalala was reminded of how the veteran photojournalist was fond of mango juice.
Through this, Ntokozo asked the mourners to raise an imaginary glass of mango juice and say cheers to the greatness of Magubane.
“As your spirit returns to God mkhulu, we thank the heavenly Father for blessing us with your presence. For gracing us with a man of immense figure whose imprint will stand the test of time,” he said.
Breaking the silence on her father’s death, Fikile Magubane said her dad had been sick of old age, but through time, he was taken care of by her brother and caregivers.
Prior to his death, Fikile said she had spent time with her father. Little did she know those were his last days.
She said that as the Lord gives and takes, it is up to them to accept that a legend is gone.
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).
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