Photographer of Iconic Soweto Pic, Sam Nzima, Passes Away at 83
Legendary South African photographer Masana Samuel “Sam” Nzima has passed away at the age of 83. Nzima died on Saturday evening, 12 May 2018, at Rob Ferreira hospital in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga. Nzima was most famous for his emotive and iconic photograph of Mbuyisa Makhubu carrying the fatally-wounded Hector Pieterson (12), while Hector’s devastated sister Antoinette ran […]
Legendary South African photographer Masana Samuel “Sam” Nzima has passed away at the age of 83. Nzima died on Saturday evening, 12 May 2018, at Rob Ferreira hospital in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga.
Nzima was most famous for his emotive and iconic photograph of Mbuyisa Makhubu carrying the fatally-wounded Hector Pieterson (12), while Hector’s devastated sister Antoinette ran next to them, during the Soweto student uprising on 16 June 1976, when students protested against suddenly being taught in a language most of them did not understand, Afrikaans.
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The picture became a historical landmark feature that forever defined how the 16 June narrative was told… and is credited for inspiring the world to fight against apartheid.
The ANC said in a tribute on Sunday morning: “It is this photo that caused the world to come to terms with the brutality and evil of the apartheid system.
“This came at a price to Nzima who was subjected to countless acts of intimidation and harassment by the cowardly security police who kept him under constant surveillance.”
The day after Nzima’s photo appeared in black African newspaper, The World, he was forced into hiding because of harassment from the security police. In those days, photographers were not allowed to take photos of anything the police did. Finally Nzima moved back to Lillydale … although the police surveillance continued.
Lillydale is where Nzima was born and grew up. His interest in photography was sparked by a teacher, and his first photos were taken in the Kruger National Park.
As a teenager his father’s boss, a white farmer, had pressured him into working as a farm labourer too. After nine months he ran away and became a gardener in Joburg, where he completed his high school education.
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Later he worked as a waiter at the Savoy Hotel where a professional photographer taught him more photo skills, and he began taking portraits of workers.
After freelancing for The World, Nzima became one of their full-time photojournalists in 1968.
For his “excellent contribution to photojournalism and putting the brutality of the apartheid police in the international spotlight” Sam Nzima was honored with the Order of Ikhamanga in Bronze in 2011, which recognises South Africans who excel in arts, culture, literature, music, journalism and sport.
The ANC said today that Nzima belonged to a generation of fearless activist photojournalists who used the might of their lenses to tell truth to power.
Amongst other accolades, Nzima’s photo earned him a spot in Time Magazine’s list of the 100 most influential photographs ever taken.