MBOMBELA - The memorial service and the funeral of legendary photographer Sam Nzima have been postponed to May 24 and 26 respectively, so that the Mpumalanga provincial government can have enough time to prepare for the two occasions, the provincial department of arts and culture said on Friday.
Spokeswoman for the department, Sibongile Nkosi, told the African News Agency (ANA) that both the memorial service and the funeral would take place at Lilydale, which is Nzima’s home village, in Bushbuckridge.
“The provincial government requested the family for the postponement and reached an agreement with them about the dates,” said Nkosi.
“The postponement is because of the magnitude of the funeral. It will be a special provincial official funeral category 2. And a State funeral requires a lot of preparations.”
Nzima’s son Thulani Nzima told ANA early this week that his family had made arrangements to hold the memorial service and the funeral on May 17 and 19 respectively. He confirmed on Friday that the provincial government requested his family for the postponement, adding his family had agreed to the postponement.
READ: Official funeral for iconic photographer Sam Nzima
Nzima died on May 12 at Rob Ferreira Hospital in Mbombela after a short illness. He was 83.
Nzima is best known for capturing the famous picture that depicted Mbuyisa Makhubu carrying Hector Pieterson after the latter was shot during the 1976 Soweto uprisings.