Obituary: Juda Ngwenya, modest photographer on front line of apartheid-era violence

30 October 2016 - 02:00 By Chris Barron

Juda Ngwenya, who has died on the East Rand at the age of 65, was a top Reuters news photographer for 20 years.
He covered the war-torn townships of the East and West Rand in the '80s and '90s. Part of his extraordinary skill and sensitivity as a lensman was his ability to stay calm and focused in the most terrifying situations. Many journalists covering the blood-soaked apartheid era owed their survival to him.He saved veteran Reuters journalist Brendan Boyle - who later worked for the Sunday Times - from being necklaced while they were covering a funeral in Atteridgeville, Pretoria, in the '80s.story_article_left1While walking from their car to the graveside they were surrounded by armed youths. They began manhandling Boyle and things were not looking good for him at all. He knew he was in trouble and so did Ngwenya.In his calm, understated way he began talking to them, and kept talking for about 10 minutes until he sensed a dip in the tension.He put his arm around Boyle, said with quiet urgency, "We've got to f**k off", and shepherded him back to their car.He told Boyle the youths had wanted to take him away and necklace him. Boyle had no doubt that if Ngwenya had not kept his head he would have been a goner.Nobody was better at reading the mood of a situation.Driving into townships along roads studded with rocks and groups of people standing and watching, Ngwenya knew when to smile and keep going and when to turn round and get out. He could read a street scene with unerring accuracy.There was nothing pushy or gung ho about Ngwenya. He never thought he was in Hollywood. He took no unnecessary risks. He was often the only photographer wearing a flak jacket. For him, it was about getting the job done and surviving.The hallmarks of his style were quiet professionalism and compassion. He would arrive at the scene of a great tragedy such as the train massacres of the early '90s, and move quickly and unobtrusively through it taking his pictures without getting in the way.Back in the darkroom his colleagues were frequently amazed at the quality and depth of the pictures he'd taken with so little fuss.full_story_image_hright1Ngwenya could feel a good picture. A good example is his iconic image of Nelson Mandela casting his vote in South Africa's first democratic election. Part of this was his ability to identify with a subject in the split second it took to press the button.There were no digital cameras in his day. Photographers had 36 frames and had to choose their moment carefully and quickly. Ngwenya had few equals.He was born on November 21 1950 in Tsakane in Brakpan on the East Rand.He worked as a freelancer submitting pictures to a community newspaper on the East Rand called The Voice and later The World.He was offered a job on The Star by the late great photographer Alf Kumalo. Reuters used The Star's pictures of the townships and after seeing Ngwenya's pictures offered him a job in 1985.In January 1994 he was with photographer Abdul Shariff when Shariff was shot and killed in Katlehong. Ngwenya rushed him to hospital in his car but couldn't save him.In April 1994 he was with photographer Ken Oosterbroek in Thokoza when his colleague was shot and killed.full_story_image_hright2Photographer Greg Marinovich was shot at the same time. Ngwenya took a famous picture of international photojournalist James Nachtwey helping him while in the background despairing efforts are being made to save Oosterbroek.Minutes later Ngwenya himself was shot in the arm. He was the only photographer wearing a flak jacket.Ngwenya covered events throughout Africa including Namibia, Zimbabwe, Congo and Angola, where he shot many pictures of Unita leader Jonas Savimbi.He regularly went into extremely challenging situations and with a minimum of fuss and drama came back with extraordinary pictures.He never blew his own trumpet and was probably taken for granted as a result.He was always using his contacts and connections to set things up for some bigwig photographer brought in from outside to take an award-winning picture that would never have happened without Ngwenya's often insufficiently acknowledged assistance.full_story_image_hright3He used his connections to secure for Reuters the first internationally televised interview of Mandela after he became president in May 1994.For all his low-key style, Ngwenya was a playboy of note. Nobody had more success with young women who were forever mooning around his office waiting for him to arrive.Towards the end of his career he was made chief photographer for Reuters in South Africa, something many felt was long overdue. He retired from Reuters in 2005.On his death, five days after collapsing from a stroke, Reuters announced it was establishing the Juda Ngwenya Photography Scholarship at the University of the Witwatersrand.He is survived by his wife, Mwelase, and five children.1950-2016..

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