By Johnathan Paoli
President Cyril Ramaphosa has led the nation in mourning the loss of legendary cultural activist, photographer and jazz visionary Rashid Lombard, who passed away on Wednesday in Cape Town surrounded by his loved ones. He was 74.
In a heartfelt statement, Ramaphosa described Lombard as a “cultural icon” whose work both chronicled and shaped South Africa’s history.
“We have lost a cultural icon who not only documented our history of struggle but made history in his own right. Rashid Lombard’s fearless depiction of apartheid’s endemic inhumanity and violence, and his compassionate focus on the lives of oppressed communities and disadvantaged individuals, is a powerful record of our struggle for basic human rights and dignity,” the president said.
Ramaphosa praised Lombard’s pioneering role in transforming the arts landscape in South Africa, most notably through the creation of the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, which elevated South African jazz to the global stage.
“His creative and entrepreneurial ability gave rise to the Cape Town Jazz Festival through which he bolstered South Africa’s integration into global culture and linked this prestige event to the development of historically disadvantaged communities,” Ramaphosa said.
Born in North End, Gqeberha, on 10 April 1951, Lombard moved with his family to Cape Town in 1962.
Originally trained as an architectural draftsman, he began his professional journey at construction giant Murray and Roberts before following his passion into industrial and then news and documentary photography.
His political awareness was forged through personal experiences of apartheid’s cruelty and shaped further by the Black Consciousness Movement.
Lombard captured defining moments of the anti-apartheid struggle as a freelance photojournalist and television sound recordist, contributing to international outlets including AFP, the BBC and NBC.
His powerful images documented the rise of the democratic movement in the 1980s, Nelson Mandela’s release in 1990 and South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994.
His friend and longtime collaborator Jimi Matthews recalled: “Rashid and I worked closely during the 80s. We shared a darkroom and many exhibitions. His photographs were acts of resistance and remembrance.”
Lombard was also deeply committed to jazz and its community-building potential.
He served as station manager of Fine Music Radio and later programming manager at P4 Smooth Jazz Radio.
In 1997, he founded espAfrika, the events company behind the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, which launched in 2000.
Under his leadership, the festival became one of the largest and most inclusive music events on the continent, attracting top international talent while remaining rooted in local development.
GOOD Party leader Patricia de Lille paid tribute to his enduring contribution.
“As the visionary behind the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, Rashid brought global attention to Cape Town while ensuring that the event remained rooted in principles of inclusivity, access and development,” she said.
After retiring in 2014, Lombard dedicated himself to preserving his extensive archive, over 500,000 film negatives and other material, which is now housed at the University of the Western Cape.
In partnership with the National Archives and the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, he sought to make this collection a national heritage resource.
In 2010, he published Jazz Rocks, a photographic journey through the jazz world, edited by the late George Hallett. It became a visual tribute to the music and people who inspired him.
Lombard’s extraordinary contributions were recognised with the National Order of Ikhamanga (Silver) in 2014.
In a symbolic moment of mutual respect, the legendary exiled photographer Ernest Cole once borrowed Lombard’s camera to photograph him, a powerful gesture from one master to another.
He is survived by his lifelong partner Colleen Lombard, his sister Fazoe Sydow, his children Chevan, Shadley, Yana, Zach and Daniel, and five grandchildren.
He will be buried according to Muslim rites.
The presidency, fellow artists, activists and the nation at large have honoured a man who captured the soul of South Africa, in sound, image and spirit.
INSIDE POLITICS