His send-off was dignified and embodied his passion for photography and storytelling. Veteran pho journalist Peter Magubane, who passed away in Johannesburg on January 1, was bid farewell in a Special Provincial Official Funeral Category Two burial. The renowned photojournalist received international appraisal for his contribution to South Africa’s history as a visual storyteller during the South African apartheid government regime.
His send-off started at Bryanston Methodist Church in Johannesburg and at his final resting place in Fourways Memorial Park. Attended by former SA President Thabo Mbeki, and current President Cyril Ramaphosa who gave a eulogy. Other mourners included veteran John Kani, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, Abigail Khubeka, and many other dignitaries.
“My father always took the path of most resistance”
Although the cause of his death was not confirmed, Dr Magubane’s granddaughter Lungile Magubane (32) said his speech was quite limited during his last days. “He wasn’t eating towards the end but on the morning before he passed, he had a big breakfast for the first time in a long time I guess he was filling up for where he has gone now,” she said. His daughter, Fikile Magubane described her father as a risk-taker. “Words often fail to describe the enormity of the gift our father has given to us as his family, his people, his generation and generations to come, and South Africa as a whole. I was a true daddy’s girl and I always wanted to be with him. It took me growing up to begin to understand the kind of man that he was,” she said.
Panyaza Lesufi, Thabo Mbeki and Zizi Kodwa
He travelled across townships documenting the life and times of black, white, coloured, and Indian South Africans during Apartheid. “My father always took the path of most resistance. We lived in a time when living as a black person was a mere act of resistance,” Fikile said. “He was truly fearless and went about his business with determination. He was always ready to get a picture regardless of what he had to sacrifice. He had picked a dangerous career and I understood that because he was always in trouble with the police, but nothing could dissuade him from taking pictures.” She said, “At one point, he used a loaf of bread to disguise his camera.”
Bongi Sikelo 