Give Sam Nzima The Credit He Deserves

It was humbling to see President Jacob Zuma mentioning and acknowledging the presence of Sam Nzima in Parliament during his State of the Nation Address earlier in February this year. While I commend this wonderful gesture, let me point out that I believe Nzima is not being given all the credit that is rightfully his. On that note, I believe that it is high time that we, the people of Bushbuckridge and Mpumalanga as a whole, push for the recognition of our hero, Nzima, the man who took the 16 June 1976 photo of the dying Hector Pieterson. Although that photograph received a round of applause for exposing the brutality of the apartheid police and shocked the entire world, it also saw an abrupt end to the career of the man behind the lens.

What many people do not know is that Nzima had to retire his camera due to the implications that came with the publishing of the most famous photo in the history of our Struggle. This man remains an unsung hero despite having captured the photo that played a huge role in turning around the political misfortunes of this beautiful country.

Nzima snapped an image that helped in shaping the political landscape of the country and unconsciously contributed to the fall of the apartheid regime. However, this hero is not receiving all the honour that is due to him. The only time he ever gets mentioned is when he is referred to as “the man who captured the June 16 photo” and nothing more.

It is self-evident that we may not have known about Hector Pieterson had it not been for Nzima. There would not be Hector Pieterson Memorial in Soweto today if it was not for this brave man who risked it all to capture what turned out to be the most important image of the Soweto Uprising.

The doors of freedom that were opened due to that picture, and the attention and sympathy that South Africa received from the international community because of that photo, definitely had an impact on the freedom that we are enjoying today.

However, it is so sad that Nzima is not even involved in the Hector Pieterson Memorial despite being the indirect influence behind the photo that ensured the establishment of this monument. It is so touching that this man’s great deeds are going unnoticed and no one is doing anything about it. It hurts so good to realise that not even a single author has volunteered to pen a biography about this man’s life. Why? I don’t know. I really don't know.

Perhaps Nzima is not visible enough. But the man really deserves recognition. He is our hero and that should not be taken away from him. There should at least be a place, road, building, street or an off-ramp somewhere in the country named after this man in honour of his contribution to society.

It goes without saying that Nzima is a hero and all heroes should be recognised for their positive contribution regardless of their geographical setting, ethnicity, race, gender or any form of classification. In the meantime, I just have to keep my fingers crossed and hope that something be done.