'He was more than what the cameras saw': touching moments from Presley Chweneyagae's memorial
Oros Mampofu's wife Bianca Carmichael, who was Presley's sister-in-law, delivered a moving tribute.
'I stand before you today with a heart full of sorrow, gratitude and respect. I speak on behalf of Presley's beloved wife and her entire Kirk family. Presley was not just a husband, a son-in-law or a brother-in-law — he was a force, a light. A presence so strong that you always knew when he entered the room. Not because he demanded attention but because he carried such quiet power, charm and grace.
'To the world, he was Presley Chweneyagae the actor, the artist, the man whose talent moved many nations from his unforgettable role in Tsotsi , to his role as the opulent Cobrizi. He gave voice to stories that needed to be told.
'But to us, he was more than what the cameras captured. He was a protector, a husband who loved deeply, a father who was gentle and proud, a brother-in-law who made us proud.
'It is hard to imagine a world without his laughter, his sharp wit or his comforting presence. But as we grieve, we also celebrate the legacy he leaves behind, not only in film and television but in the lives he touched, the hearts he warmed and the inspiration he sparked in the next generation of artists.'
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IOL News
an hour ago
- IOL News
Gavin Hood and industry peers celebrate Presley Chweneyagae's scene-stealing talent at heartfelt second memorial service
The life of Presley Chweneyagae was celebrated at The South African State Theatre on Thursday, June 5. Image: File. The second memorial service of actor Presley Chweneyagae took place at The South African State Theatre on Thursday, June 5. Chweneyagae recently died at the age of 40 from natural causes. His funeral is set to take place on Saturday, June 7, at Akasia Community Hall, Gauteng, from 8am. He will be laid to rest at Zandfontein Cemetery. The actor rose to fame through his unforgettable performances in the Academy Award-winning film, "Tsotsi", "iNumber Number: Jozi Gold" and the popular telenovela "The River", which ultimately led to a spin-off show, "Cobrizi". Actors Thato Molamu and Motshidi Motshegwa presided over the service. The ceremony was marked by heartfelt tributes from his co-stars and colleagues, all eager to pay homage to the talent and spirit of a man affectionately known as 'Cobrizi wa le Easy'. South African filmmaker Gavin Hood delivered a moving tribute, recalling the young actor's unique talent. "What an amazing celebration of an amazing man. When the late Moonyeenn Lee (casting director) suggested we audition Presley for 'Tsotsi', I confessed that I've never heard of him ... but she couldn't take her eyes off him. "He was only 19 and had never been in a film before. He possessed that rare quality that defines great acting. "And what is that quality? It is an ego-free instinct for raw emotional honesty ... He knew how to move through a scene ... He didn't show emotion, he allowed it to exist honestly, vulnerably in front of us." Hood continued to describe how Chweneyagae brought depth and honesty to the role of Tsotsi, stating: "He didn't act, he listened and allowed the story of the character he was telling to just be seen through him ... He gave Tsotsi a soul, he gave Tsotsi his soul. "The Oscar I was privileged to collect on behalf of 'Tsoti' was not awarded to me as the director, it was awarded to our film, to a collective effort, to everyone who involved themselves and gave themselves to that story. "And no one gave themselves more than Presley. He carried the heart of that film without ever trying to steal one frame, and witness him reveal the humanity of Tsotsi brought us all closer together." Fellow actor Terry Pheto shared her journey with Chweneyagae, expressing that he was instrumental in transforming her life and career. "Presley was part of my beginning and somehow the end of a full-circle moment in my career. We worked together on my very first film, 'Tsotsi', we were just kids back then, young, hungry and full of dreams, even we couldn't articulate, and yet, there he was, carrying the weight of that story with a quiet intensity that left everyone breathless. "His brilliance catapulted my career into unimaginable heights." Their collaboration on "Tsotsi" paved the way for Pheto's future successes: "I don't say that lightly, but being part of 'Tsotsi' opened doors that didn't know existed and almost two decades later, I had the honour of working with him again on 'iNumber Number: Jozi Gold', this time as a director trainee. "And, once again, he was he lead, still powerful, still generous and still utterly magnetic. Presley made history, he made us proud, and he made us laugh." Kenneth Nkosi echoed the sentiments of his peers: "A lot of people are jealous that they didn't work with that man (Chweneyagae). He was so easy to work with ... Shout out to Presely and Moonyeenn Lee." Israel Matseke Zulu, who also spoke at Chweneyagae's memorial on Tuesday, June 3, in Mahikeng, advocated for the celebration of actors' contributions while they are still alive, hoping to honour their legacies through festivals. "We don't have to wait for somebody to depart. I wish you could organise a festival like this for me before I depart. Rest in peace Chweneyagae," said Zulu. Reflecting on their encounters on the set of "iNumber Number: Jozi Gold", S'dumo Mtshali remembered Chweneyagae's influence on him. "The first time I met him, I met someone that I admired watching from 'Tsotsi', from seeing him on this stage (State Theatre), and to work with him is a masterclass of its own ... I always called him 'grootman' because he paved the way for me." He urged Chweneyagae's son to embrace his father's legacy and the responsibility that came with it, encouraging him to carry his family legacy. "One thing I want to say to you, young man, is yes, you lost a father, now you have to take up his shoes. Don't be bitter, don't be angry, don't be sad, but feel those emotions, it's all new now. "You have to carry this family. Help your mother, she needs you now. Presley gave us hell, but he always showed up, and I want you to show up ... I want you to hold that he was a good man. He paved the way for us and many other artists." Other speakers at the memorial included representatives from the Moonyeenn Lee Agency, the MultiChoice Group, actor Thabiso Ramotshela, who played Chweneyagae's son on "The River", and director Krijay Govender, who referred to Chweneyagae as a "thief" during her tribute. "Nobody stole a scene, absolutely nobody stole a scene the way Presley did," said Govender. Watch the full memorial service below.
Mail & Guardian
2 hours ago
- Mail & Guardian
Visionary with a camera: Rashid Lombard's lasting legacy
Caption: Rashid Lombard at the Cape Town Press Centre in Shortmarket Street, 1989, photo from the Shadley Lombard archive. Rashid Lombard was a legend among legends. A comrade, a stalwart, a hip jazz cat — he lived large, energetically, wildly seizing life by the horns, as if there was an urgency to do so. Lombard was a photojournalist working for the foreign press, capturing the darkest days of apartheid South Africa, but also a major contributor to culture whose name was synonymous with jazz in South Africa. He died on 4 June, at the age of 74. Tributes from all over the world poured from different aspects of his life — as a mentor, activist, photographer and organiser. All attest to his brilliant storytelling, because his life was so interesting and often unbelievable. His most striking characteristics were his charm, humour and how he was always working and able to accomplish a lot in a short time, making it impossible to capture all he did. He said about his youth, 'I liked money and I liked shoes. At high school, during holiday time, I'd be working in the shops in Athlone. I always had a job. I'd always find something to do.' Lombard was born in Port Elizabeth in 1951 and his family moved to Cape Town when he was 11 years old in 1962. His love for photography grew through art classes while attending Wittebome High in Wynberg and through an uncle interested in the art form. Apartheid prevented him from studying photography, but because he loved drawing, he got into architectural drafting. He landed a job at the construction giant Murray & Roberts, as an industrial photographer of architecture, shooting buildings around Cape Town. He soon got hooked on photography and started photographing political rallies. When we met for an interview at his home in Athlone, Cape Town in 2022, Lombard was joined by his daughter Yana, and the pair spoke as one unit, finishing each other's sentences. They were thick as thieves and partners in crime. To date, I have not witnessed a father-daughter duo so close and the interview was done jointly. Yana knew the context of each image spoken about and Lombard had had an incredible memory for detail, with the ability to rattle off names and dates that is rare. They spoke about his life highlights — his extensive photographic archive, iconic gigs, Nelson Mandela's release, the country's first elections, photographing rallies in the height of apartheid, meeting musicians from all over the world. Their stories were endless. Caption: Rashid Lombard greets his wife, Colleen Lombard on her release from section 29 at the Cape Town Courts after her successful bail hearing. Photo by Benny Gool. Upon entering his home, iconic, historic images lined the walls, alongside books and records. Excitedly, Lombard guided me to a backroom filled with archives, posters and history, and then another room, showing me a reel of negatives. 'The thing about learning from a photographer's perspective, is you get to see how they think,' he said. His negatives showed what his days would be like back in the height of apartheid repression. During the day, it was shooting at rallies and, at nights, in the smoky jazz clubs. 'That's why, in my contact sheets, you can see a funeral, then a party, then a gig. All the time I was photographing. I was at every gig,' Lombard said. 'The music was also linked to the political struggle. They were all involved. Not one musician ever said, 'No I can't play at this.' So you'd be at a funeral that afternoon and at night it would be a goomba [party]. We would be at a rally during the day, and then the jazz club at night.' And it is this statement that encapsulates how South Africa's struggle for freedom is intertwined with a legacy of jazz and politically charged figures. As a photojournalist during the Eighties, he founded the Cape Town Press Centre in the city centre with renowned photojournalist John Rubython, and documented for BBC, NBC, AFP and local publications like Grassroots and South. It was a facility where foreign media could come and work and they'd organised runners to guarantee safe passage into the townships. 'Everything was undercover. We ran that facility until Mandela was released in 1991.' The centre was across an important jazz and hip-hop venue and club called Jazz Den/The Base where activists would hang out. His peers were from the golden age of photojournalists, some have passed on: Peter Magubane, George Hallett, Omar Badsha, Rafs Mayet, Oscar Gutierrez and Gregory Franz. Lombard was married to the anti-apartheid activist Colleen Rayson, and though she has been ill for many years, she would often accompany him to jazz concerts in Cape Town. The couple met when she was 16 and the journalist Zubeida Jaffer describes them as 'a couple who were tied at the hip'. Lombard's three children — Yana, Chevan and Shadley — grew up with a great sense of photography and Shadley is also a photographer. Tributes for Lombard poured in from musicians, and from political figures, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, the Democratic Alliance and The Good Party. In 2014, he was awarded the National Order of Ikhamanga in Silver in 2014 for his role working in jazz internationally. Caption: The late poet James Matthews, writer & activist with Alexander Sinton High School students protesting outside their school in Athlone, Cape Town, during the nation-wide schools boycott in 1985. Photo by Rashid Lombard. He gave us stages Lombard loved music and, for as long as he was able to, he would attend gigs all over Cape Town. During his lifetime, he must have witnessed thousands of musicians playing. One of his greatest achievements is co-founding the largest jazz event in South Africa, now called The Cape Town International Jazz Festival. Originally called The North Sea Jazz Festival, he was director from 2000 to 2014, and Yana worked with him booking artists. He also co-founded EspAfrika in 1998, the company which runs the festival. Prior to that he started a jazz club called Rosies at the V&A Waterfront, with Rubython and Jimi Matthews. Later, Rosies would become the name of a stage at the jazz festival. He also worked in radio at Fine Music Radio and P4. On his tour to South Africa in May, drummer Kesivan Naidoo dedicated his performance at the Baxter Theatre to Lombard, based on their long friendship. He shared this tribute: 'Today, we lost a giant. Rashid Lombard was more than a cultural icon, more than a mentor, more than a visionary. He was a father figure to an entire generation of South African musicians. A fierce believer in the transformative power of jazz. A documentarian of our stories. A builder of dreams. He gave us stages when there were none. He opened doors where only walls existed … 'Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for believing in all of us. May your journey onward be filled with light — and may we honour your life by continuing to make music, take up space, and tell our stories, boldly.' Caption: Rashid Lombard with Kesivan Naidoo at The Bailey in Cape Town, January 2024. Photographed by Yasser Booley. The Lessons he left behind Lombard's skill was that of a brilliant connector; extremely driven and ambitious. In his presence, one felt that anything was possible and that there was a solution to every problem. He was deeply passionate about art, activism, education and photography and throughout his life opened doors for many and we owe so much to him for doing so. He nurtured musicians, but more importantly, an entire arts community. He was passionate about education and he used the jazz festival as a medium for that to happen. If it were not for Lombard, I would not be an arts journalist today. For many years, he ran two education programmes at his festival, one for arts journalism, taught by Gwen Ansell, and one for photography taught by many of his comrades, such as the late Peter McKenzie. This course was essential to my education as a journalist and set the trajectory for the rest of my life. For a week, culminating in the festival, students would learn how to document jazz. I attended the arts journalism course in 2009. It was so good, I attended again in 2012, and later did the Arts Journalism Mentorship course taught by Fiona Lloyd. About teaching this course Ansell says: 'Rashid was the reason the arts journalism course worked. He saw the strength of the idea immediately, and pulled out all the stops to make it work, including finding a budget for scholarships to draw in students from across Africa — and seeing visa issues for them were sorted out so they could negotiate sometimes difficult SA immigration procedures. 'And the first thing he agreed, right at the start of the very first programme, was that the festival would be totally hands-off on what students wrote, even if it was critical of the event. Not everybody else in festival admin agreed with him, but he defended that principle fiercely. 'That tells you about his politics — he not only understood, but lived, the role of the media as an agent of democracy and change. It really shows the decline of such political awareness since.' Lombard also realised the importance of documentation and annually released a publication with images of jazz photography, these included; Jazz Rocks: Six decades of music in South Africa ; All That Jazz — a pictorial tribute ; 10th Anniversary of the Cape Town International Jazz Festival and Jazz, Blues, Swing: Six decades of music in South Africa. An archive for all of us Lombard's interest in archiving started in 1986, after being awarded a study and travel grant to work at the prestigious Magnum Photos in New York. From 1987, he was the chief photographer for South Press , the first alternative, anti-apartheid weekly newspaper in Cape Town. Rayson worked with him, and started to help organise his archive but, soon after, she was detained by the apartheid authorities for five months. After she was released in 1988, she continued to organise the archive. Caption: Rashid Lombard with Nelson Mandela in Soweto, three days after his release from prison in February 1990. Photo supplied by the family. Our interview was about his passion and vision for a centre for photographers in South Africa — something that was desperately needed and an idea which Lombard worked on over the last decade of his life. After leaving the jazz festival, digitising his archive became the top priority. He later partnered with the National Archives and the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture to make the collection publicly accessible online as a national heritage resource. His daughter Yana will carry on the mission to ensure this work continues. Speaking about the memory required, and the need for photographers to have a personal hand in putting an archive together, Lombard said, 'You saw when I opened the file in the cupboard? 'I said, 'Oh there's Peter Magubane!' It does come back … I mean it's an important question. It's why it's so important to do this now with me, before I pass on. Let's face it, you're going to pass on at some time. So the urgency is now!' Realising the lack of opportunities and support for photographers, Lombard's dream was to create a space to teach younger students and have a mentorship programme with older photographers. He wanted to preserve, digitise and move the entire archive into a building, which would also house a darkroom and other amenities affordable to photographers. Caption: A group photo of South African photographers taken at Spier in 2021 including Fanie Jason, Oscar Gutierrez, Gregory Franz, Simon Shiffman, Aymeric Pelluguin and Siphiwe Mhlambi. Image supplied by Siphiwe Mhlambi. His archive consists of 500 000 film negatives, alongside video, audio and posters, collected over 50 years. 'The idea was, instead of leaving all my archives to my kids — because it belongs to them, it's in the family trust — isn't it irresponsible for us to give them the task? They might want to do other things in life. But somebody has to look after it. 'And if a university is the custodian … for the next 100 years, maybe the university is still there, so that is a spot to leave it at. It's linked to the family and linked to me, but it's going to be around and will be accessible.' For his dream, he said he wanted the best of everything: 'I don't touch anything if it's not state-of-the-art,' with the intention of setting up darkrooms and assuring, 'I will find the money for it.' 'We are writing a new curriculum, We are getting young people in to train them, we are setting up a darkroom, we're going to clean negatives. But we have complete control over it. We are going to set up a new centre. Get young people in to start looking at pictures, and work with older photographers. 'Get unemployed activists to look at the work and write about it. They might just look at the contact sheet and then take it further to younger people … How do you distribute that information by phone? So it's not just a place to study archives, it's a photographic centre.' Lombard had taken part in numerous exhibitions since the Seventies and photographed some of the most important people in South Africa's history. In 1994, he was the personal photographer to Nelson Mandela during the election campaign. Caption: Rashid Lombard, New York, 1986, photographed by Ernest Cole. Courtesy of the Rashid Lombard Archive (RLA) He made it a personal mission to seek out the great photographer Ernest Cole, and was one of the last to photograph him in 1986. Their touching meeting formed part of the 2024 documentary Ernest Cole: Lost and Found by Raoul Peck. Cole, who had not held the camera for a decade, borrowed Lombard's and photographed him. Lombard's presence and demeanor suggested that he was part of a different era. He lived through all the smoke, from the grit of smoky newsrooms, to running away from explosions and teargas, to the smoke of cigarettes blowing away at late-night jazz gigs. Through it all, his lens lifted the veil for the truth, of which we are so thankful for. We remember him for all that he taught us.
The Herald
2 hours ago
- The Herald
Cape visitors set to thrill at Aldo Scribante Raceway
An exciting change to this weekend's third round of the Algoa Motorsport Club's Regional championship is the addition of the Cape Town-based Kaltron Formula Supercars that are making the trip to Aldo Scribante Raceway. The cars that run a 2-litre Opel Motor were all built by the late Owen Ashley and celebrate their 30th year of existence next year. They will take part in three races, with the first two being for championship points and the third being a fun race where they will be joined by local Supercar racers Peter Schultz and Tom Hugo. A strong field of 20 modified saloons will be in action and sees legendary racer Syd Lippstreu with his immaculate Toyota Celica moving from the Retro Classic class and joining the modified saloons for the first time. The battle up front should once again be between the class B cars of Ian Riddle in his VW SuperPolo and Ian Oberholzer in his Volvo 850 station wagon as well as relative newcomer Elan Buchman in a VW SuperPolo. In the Wide Horizon Advance Training-sponsored Coastal Challenge for historics, classics and retro classics is Brent Watts, who is making a welcome return to circuit racing at Aldo Scribante Raceway in his Nissan Skyline and is set to give the similar Skylines of usual frontrunners Rane Berry and Tom Hugo a run for their money. East London visitor Neil Stephen returns with the only Opel Manta in the country that is racing and joins a whole fleet of classic Ford Escorts, Anglias and Capris as well as a classic VW Beetle with Henry Adams behind the wheel. Included in the mix are the street and fine cars with Barry Buchman in his Mercedes A45S and Ayrton Pilz in a Renault Clio 3 RS. Dylan Grobler returns to action after a short break in the open motorcycle class on his new 600cc Yamaha R6 and will be up against fellow 600cc competitors Ethan Diener, Ruan van Zyl and Ashton Heideman in what promises to be an epic battle on track. Kiera Potgieter is also back after taking a nasty tumble at the last round of the championship during qualifying and joins fellow girl racers Emma Diener and Kirsty Oberholzer in the CBR 150/250 motorcycle class where they will be up against Craig Benn, Dylan Grobler, Ruan van Zyl, Rob de Vos and Anthony Lippstreu Racing is set to start at 10.15am tomorrow and there will be three heats per class including the Ingco 45-Minute race that ends off the day and is set to start at about 4.15pm. Upcoming events: June 7: Main circuit racing at Aldo Scribante Raceway, round 3; Dirt Oval Racing in East London June 8: Speedyquip Bikers Breakfast Charity Run to Thornhill Hotel June 10: Algoa Indoor Karting League racing at Baywest Mall June 14: Motocross Training Day at Rover Motorcycle Club; Slake Enduro at Zwartenbosch Golf Estate in Humansdorp June 15: Youth Day Charity Spinning & Stance at Aldo Scribante Raceway; Top End Run at East London Grand Prix Circuit June 21: EP Off-Road championship round 2 at Innibos Lapa; Regional round 4 of Dirt Oval Racing at PE Oval Track Raceway; Algoa Kart Club round 4 of regional & club championship June 27-28: ROK Karting Nationals at Algoa Kart Club. The Herald
