Veteran photojournalist Tladi Khuele recalls what a rare feat it was to capture multiracial band Juluka, fronted by Johnny Clegg, during SA’s apartheid era.
So, when the entertainment desk at Sowetan’s sister publication, The Rand Daily Mail, gave Khuele a tip-off in 1984 that Juluka would be performing at the Jabulani Amphitheatre in Soweto, he knew he was part of history.
That iconic image of Clegg and Juluka dancer Dudu Zulu now forms part of the rich Arena Holdings archive. As part of a collaboration between Sowetan and Netflix honouring the paper’s 40th anniversary, fellow lensman Simphiwe Mhlambi has reimagined the moment.
The updated version features Blood & Water star Arno Greeff and Jiva! actor Prince Grootboom slipping into character as Clegg and Zulu.
“Every photographer wanted to get a picture of Johnny Clegg and Sipho Mchunu performing together. It was very rare in the apartheid era to get a white man in Zulu regalia and actually speaking Zulu,” Khuele remembered.
“I took that picture with that mindset that [I had to] ‘take the best picture of this man’. What I like about photography is that you record the moment and then that picture becomes part of history. I recorded history and it made me feel good. I took that picture and I got very excited and proud.”
Born in Alexandra township in northern Johannesburg, Khuele is a self-taught photographer and started taking pictures in high school in 1978 as a way to earn pocket money. He moved to taking professional pictures for Homemakers in 1981.
Khuele’s photojournalism career then kicked into high gear when he was a freelancer for The Rand Daily Mail in 1982.
In 1983, he was assigned to capture squatters between Katlehong and Vosloorus on the East Rand. Khuele remembers how the squatters were given a 2pm deadline to vacate the area and he had arrived early to capture the moment.
But the police arrived earlier than expected too, forcefully removing the squatters and leaving them badly beaten. A journalist for The Rand Daily Mail was also badly injured in the process and Khuele took a picture of a white policeman chasing him.
The next day that picture made the front page of the paper and launched his career. Khuele was then hired permanently and worked there until the publication shut its doors in 1985.
Khuele relocated to Lesotho and worked as chief photographer for The Nation. He made a return to SA a year later to join Zwelakhe Sisulu’s New Nation but left in 1987. Pace magazine followed and then City Press, where he worked for 10 years.
The 63-year-old lensman joined Sunday World in 2000 after a five-month stint at Beeld. He left in 2004 and has been freelancing ever since.
“My life right now is upside down. As a result of the pandemic, we are not getting assignments,” Khuele said
“Having worked for all these great newspapers, my wish is for whoever is in charge to call some of those guys who made these newspapers what they are today, like myself, and just give us some freelance gigs.
“I don’t want to get political about it but this is my reality. I have no work but I will not stop taking pictures. I don’t despair.”
Khuele is a married father of three and is now based in Vosloorus. He is the owner of picture agency Bochabela Photography and also teaches aspiring young photographers. His dream is to have a gallery featuring his own work.
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