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Late Sam Nzima’s house turned into museum

Sam Nzima
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The house of the late photographer Sam Nzima in the dusty village of Lilydale in Mpumalanga has been turned into a museum. The family also launched the Sam Nzima Foundation.

Nzima, who took the famous June 16 photograph of Hector Peterson during the Soweto uprisings 44 years ago, passed away in 2018.

His son, Thulani, believes that turning his father’s house into a museum is the best way to keep his legacy alive.

“But why we are here? It’s because we realised that is taking a bit of time? Before we get into that point where we can build a bigger picture and bigger project … so we thought in fact it makes a lot of sense if we go back to where exactly Sam Nzima’s home was. This is Sam Nzima’s home. We called the old home. But in fact, this is his home because also keep in mind that after he received the keys for the new house, Sam Nzima never spent one night … spiritual this is his home,” says Thulani Nzima.

In the video below, is a report on the launch:

In 2018, former journalist Dr Thami Mazwai described the late Nzima as among the rare breed of photojournalists. Dr Mazwai worked with Nzima back in the 1970s to early 90s and he said at the time Nzima knew how to tell a story through his lens.

“The camera was an extension of his body. It just automatically clicked at the right moment and it would capture some of the best images that one can think of. The importance of that was that the image then became living testimony. He was sort of reserved and very humble.”

 

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