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Peter Magubane, Renowned Anti-Apartheid Photographer, Dies in South Africa at Age 91

© AP Photo / Denis FarrellIn this photo taken Thursday June 2, 2016, photographer Peter Magubane speaks with the Associated Press at his home in Johannesburg.
In this photo taken Thursday June 2, 2016, photographer Peter Magubane speaks with the Associated Press at his home in Johannesburg. - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 02.01.2024
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Born on January 18, 1932, in the Johannesburg suburb of Vrededorp - now known as Pageview - Peter Sexford Magubane's career has been defined by his ability to capture the struggle against apartheid and the triumph of freedom.
Legendary South African photographer and anti-apartheid activist, Peter Magubane, has passed away at the age of 91, just days before his 92nd birthday, the South African National Editors' Forum said.
Magubane photographed 40 years of apartheid in South Africa, including the 1960 Sharpeville massacre, the 1964 trial of Mandela and others, and the 1976 Soweto uprising, winning numerous local and international awards.
Over the course of his career, the photographer was imprisoned numerous times and was subject to a five-year ban that prevented him from working or even leaving his home without police permission. In 1969, he spent 586 days in solitary confinement after photographing a protest outside a prison where Mandela's then-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela was being held.
However, Magubane continued to photograph the horrors of the regime's oppression, and later became the official photographer for President Nelson Mandela after his release from prison.
"I said, ‘no I will remain here. I will fight apartheid with my camera'," the photographer said in a recent interview with the South African broadcaster.
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'This Legacy Must Live On'

Magubane was "someone who made very big sacrifices for the freedom that we enjoy today," his granddaughter Ulungile Magubane told the media.
The South African National Editors’ Forum paid tribute to Magubane, describing him as a giant in the field of photojournalism and a courageous journalist who "defiantly opposed the apartheid regime."
"Magubane’s resistance was not only evident in his actions but also in his creative methods of capturing the truth. He ingeniously hid his camera in a hollowed-out Bible, firing with a cable release from his pocket. On other occasions, he covertly took shots with his camera concealed beneath his jacket, inside a milk carton, or half a loaf of bread, pretending to eat while documenting crucial moments," the statement said.
Citing the photographer's role in bringing down the apartheid regime, the South African government also offered its condolences.
"Dr. Peter Magubane was an excellent photojournalist and freedom fighter, who fearlessly documented apartheid’s injustices. Dr. Magubane used his camera as a mode of protest, never backing down against an oppressive regime. South Africa is a free and democratic country today because of the role played by Dr. Magubane and many others who fought for our freedom. This legacy must live on," the government said in a statement.
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