PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver the eulogy at the Provincial Official Funeral of the late Dr Peter Magubane in Johannesburg on Wednesday, 10 January.
Dr Magubane, a nationally celebrated and globally renowned photographer who documented critical moments in South Africa’s liberation struggle and emergence as a democracy, passed away on 01 January 2024 at the age of 91.
He was also a distinguished Member of the National Order of Luthuli.
President Ramaphosa has honoured Dr Magubane by declaring a Provincial Official Funeral Category 2.
A Provincial Official Funeral Category 2 includes elements of police ceremonial honours and is “reserved for distinguished persons specifically designated by the President of South Africa on request by the premier of a province”.
Dr Magubane’s photographic career began in 1955 after he joined Drum magazine as a driver and messenger.
He soon became a darkroom assistant where his major assignment was covering the African National Congress 1955 convention.
He used his camera to record the experiences and struggles of black South Africans during apartheid. These images reached the world’s media and revealed to the international community the injustices that characterised South Africa at that time.
Funeral proceedings will take place at the Bryanston Methodist Church.
Ed Note: He was also a personal photographer to the first democratically elected President Dr Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.
Image (His lens spoke volume. Dr Peter Magubane being harassed by Apartheid regime Police during riots in the country. He will be laid to rest today).
