South African singer and songwriter Johnny Clegg, one of the few white artists to openly confront the apartheid government in the late 1970s and 1980s, has died.
The Grammy-nominated artist – often called the “White Zulu” – died peacefully on Tuesday at his home in Johannesburg with his family there, his manager Roddy Quin said.
Clegg was 66. He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2015.
“He fought it to the last second,” Quin told the South African Broadcasting Corporation.
ALSO READ: Judiciary is corrupt, CJN Tanko Mohammad admits during Senate screening
Clegg performed as late as 2017, high-kicking and stomping during a tour called, The Final Journey, while his cancer was in remission [AP]
In a statement, the South African government said: “[His] music had the ability to unite people across the races. Clegg has made an indelible mark in the music industry and the hearts of the people.”
Opposition leader Mmusi Maimane said Clegg “wrote our SA story when our country was at its worst and at its best.”
The Grammy-winning Soweto Gospel Choir said it was “devastated” by Clegg’s death and called him a “music icon and a true South African.”
Fellow musicians posted similar tributes on social media.
Clegg’s multiracial bands during South Africa’s white minority rule attracted an international following. He crafted hits inspired by Zulu and township harmonies, as well as folk music and other influences.
One of his best-known songs was “Asimbonanga”, which means “We’ve never seen him” in Zulu. It refers to the South Africans during apartheid when images of the then-imprisoned Mandela were banned.
Mandela was released in 1990 after 27 years in prison and became South Africa’s first black president in an all-race election four years later.
Clegg was arrested for his songs but he “never gave in to the pressure of the apartheid rules,” his manager said.
and then