By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Renowned veteran photographer and anti-apartheid activist Dr Peter Magubane. Photo: X/@CyrilRamaphosa.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has paid tribute to renowned veteran photographer and anti-apartheid activist Dr Peter Magubane.
Magubane passed away at his home, surrounded by his family – as confirmed by his daughter Fikile.
His photographs witnessed pivotal moments and captured the essence of the anti-apartheid movement, including the shooting deaths of 69 unarmed demonstrators in Sharpeville in 1960, the Rivonia trial of Nelson Mandela and other leaders of the African National Congress in the early 1960s, and the uprising by high school students in Soweto in 1976.
He was born in 1932 in the Johannesburg suburb of Vrededorp – now Pageview and grew up in Sophiatown.
Magubane became the official photograher of Nelson Mandela when the anti-apartheid leader was released from prison in 1990 and until he became president four years later.
“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.
“For most of his life, Peter Magubane created iconic visual records of our struggle for freedom and of the full range of life in our country,” Ramaphosa said.
The South African National Editor’s Forum (SANEF) said Magubane was a giant in the field of photojournalism.
“He will forever be remembered as one of the courageous journalists who defiantly opposed the apartheid regime in South Africa. Throughout the oppressive years of apartheid, he faced harassment, beatings, buckshot wounds, and prolonged periods of interrogation and detention.
“Remarkably, he survived being shot seventeen times at a student’s funeral in Natalspruit, Gauteng Province, and endured over 586 days in solitary confinement in 1969,” Sanef said.
Political parties including the governing ANC and the GOOD party paid homage to the icon and his remarkable life’s work.Arts and Culture Minister Zizi Kodwa, meanwhile described him as a freedom fighter as well as a masterful storyteller and lensman.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation said they will miss Magubane’s dry sense of humour and his sharp eye, and will always value a body of work carrying great historical and artistic significance.
Among his numerous honours, Magubane considered the South African Order of Meritorious Service Silver Class II, bestowed upon him by Mandela, as his greatest.
He received the American National Professional Photographers Association Humanistic Award for intervening to prevent violence and became the first black South African to win Press Photo of the Year in 1958.
After the dawn of democracy in South Africa, Magubane redirected his lens towards capturing the complexities of tribal and territorial conflicts as well as the cultural traditions of post-democratic South Africa.
With nine honorary doctorates and accolades including the Cornel Cappa Lifetime Achievement Award, the Robert Capa Award, and the Martin Luther King Luthuli Award, Magubane’s impact on journalism and photography is unparalleled.
He twice exhibited his most iconic images of Nelson Mandela, with the first held at a United Nations gathering in Poland, opened by former Polish President Lech Walesa.
The second exhibition took place from 1 July to 30 September 2018 at the Nelson Mandela Gateway to Robben Island, where these images were gifted to the Nelson Mandela Foundation by Magubane.