Mbuyiswa Makhubu carrying wounded Hector Pieterson followed by his sister, Antoinette (1976) by Sam NzimaPhotography Legacy Project
The image that captured June 16
Mbuyiswa Makhubu carrying a wounded Hector Pieterson, followed by his sister, Antoinette, Soweto, 16 June 1976, photo: Sam Nzima
Sam Nzima's (1934 – 2018) recollections
Sam was assigned coverage of the pending student demonstration following a tip-off to The World newspaper from an anonymous student. Sam Nzima remembered the tense atmosphere of a peaceful student march that immediately enraged the police and army through the singing, the then-banned resistance prayer, Nkosi Sikelel’iAfrika.
Police shooting at unarmed students (1976) by Sam NzimaPhotography Legacy Project
Then came the terrifying sound of a lethal police gunshot that hit a little boy close to where Sam was standing, who was wearing his press badge to indicate to both parties that he was simply a press representative and neither a student nor a police spy.
When he returned to the office and showed the editor a picture of a dying Hector, the editor initially refused to publish the picture, fearing its publication would instigate a civil war. And so it was that Sam Nzima’s momentous photo made it to the front page of The World newspaper and informed all and sundry of the prevailing turmoil in Black townships.
That picture also fuelled ordinary people’s anger and helped radicalise activists, conscientise the ignorant and apolitical as well as helped galvanise despondent Black societies to transform feelings of helplessness…”
Suzette Mafuna, at Sam Nzima’s funeral
“I have tried erasing it all from my head but it doesn’t go away. I still remember the tear gas, the sounds of the guns and the revolutionary songs the young people were singing. I was the only photographer close to where the young people were marching and eventually got shot ... I saw a child being shot and falling down. I knew, this was my moment. I had to capture this. There was no room to cower."
– Sam Nzima
Policemen patrol, early morning, Soweto (1976) by Peter MagubanePhotography Legacy Project
Reflections by Peter Magubane (1932 – 2024)
Policemen patrol, early morning, Soweto, 1976, photo: Peter Magubane
Police in Soweto (1976) by Peter MagubanePhotography Legacy Project
“We really worked hard as we rushed from one point of the township to another. I was not scared I was angry…When I have my camera, I have my gun.”
– Peter Magubane, June 16, 40th Anniversary edition, Seriti Sechaba Publishers, 2016
Black power sign in Dube Township (1976) by Peter MagubanePhotography Legacy Project
“The white power struggle was shaken, unity in action was forged, and a new sense of struggle-purpose forged. The government announced it had suspended the implementation of the Afrikaans medium of instruction policy. But it had gone beyond that.”
– Peter Magubane, June 16, 40th Anniversary edition, Seriti Sechaba Publishers, 2016
“A struggle without documentation is not a struggle”
Witness a rare occasion as Peter Magubane recounts the events of June 16, 1976.
Residents scatter as teargas permeates the air near Mzimhlope Hostel in Soweto (1976) by Alf KumaloPhotography Legacy Project
Alf Kumalo (1930 – 2012)
Kumalo became famous for his coverage of the tumultuous resistance to apartheid that swept South Africa, especially the Soweto area, where he lived for most of his life. As a Black photographer during this period, getting the shot was never easy. He described how he would sometimes take one shot on a roll of film before hiding the canister in his socks or elsewhere on his body to protect it from the police.
A Soweto resident runs away from the toxic smell of teargas (1976) by Alf KumaloPhotography Legacy Project
At other times he risked his life to ensure that the story would be told. In 1976, students led an uprising in Soweto after the apartheid government tried to force the instruction of the Afrikaans language in Black schools. The uprising spread to Black communities across the country and is remembered as one of the turning points of the apartheid era.
During the police crackdown that ensued, Kumalo said even the Sunday Times’ regular drivers refused to work in Soweto. “It was too dangerous,” he said. He was in a car with one of the writers when he captured one of his most famous images, depicting two bodies lying in the street in front of a large armoured police vehicle. He described how he shot the image from the car’s rear window, adding that they could easily have been killed by the police who had orders to “shoot and kill anyone, even photographers”.
Alf Kumalo (1976)Photography Legacy Project
Kumalo said he felt guilty having taken such a risk, and felt even worse when censorship stood in the way of the photo’s publication. “I went to the office the following day and listened to one of the editors telling BBC guys that I was unlucky and I didn’t get any good pictures.” Kumalo said they not only kept the pictures from being published in the Times, but also prevented them from appearing in other foreign publications.
Reflections on June 16, 1976
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