Zwelakhe Sisulu
|
OMG Zwelakhe Sisulu |
|
|---|---|
| Born | December 17, 1950 |
| Died | 4 October 2012 (aged 61) |
| Residence | Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Nationality | South African |
| Alma mater | Orlando High (Soweto) |
| Occupation | Journalist, editor, newspaper founder |
| Years active | 1975–88 |
| Employer | South African Associated Newspapers The Rand Daily Mail Sunday Post Sowetan New Nation |
| Known for | anti-apartheid activism and journalism against Apartheid |
| Notable work | 1976 Soweto uprising |
| Home town | Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Television | South African Broadcast Corporation |
| Political party | African National Congress |
| Movement | anti-Apartheid activism |
| Spouse(s) | Zodwa Sisulu |
| Parent(s) |
Walter Sisulu Albertina Sisulu |
| Relatives |
|
| Awards | Nieman Fellowship Louis Lyons Award for Courageous Journalism International Human Rights Law Group Award Union of Swedish Journalists Award Rothko Chapel Award for Human Rights |
Zwelakhe Sisulu (17 December 1950 – 4 October 2012) was a South African black journalist, editor, and newspaper founder. He was president of the Writers' Association of South Africa, which later became the Black Media Workers Association of South Africa (or Mwasa), and he led a year-long strike in 1980 for fair wages for black journalists. He was a victim of the Apartheid-era government in South Africa and was imprisoned at least three times for his journalism. After Apartheid ended, he became the chief executive officer of the South African Broadcast Corporation.
Zwelakhe Sisulu's family is well known for its struggle against Apartheid in South Africa. He was the son of anti-Apartheid activists and African National Congress members Walter Sisulu and Albertina Sisulu. He was the brother of Max Sisulu, Speaker of the National Assembly, and Lindiwe Sisulu, Minister of Public Service and Administration. His father was sentenced to life in prison in 1964 when Zwelakhe Sisulu was 13 years old.
Sisulu and his wife Zodwa had 2 sons and 1 daughter.
Zwelakhe Sisulu began his career in journalism in 1975 when he worked as an intern for South African Associated Newspapers. He then became a journalist for The Rand Daily Mail where he covered the Soweto uprising in 1976 and remained there until 1978. He was news editor of the Sunday Post (South Africa) until his ban in 1980. While at the Sunday Post, he was sentenced to prison for his refusal to reveal information about sources of one of his reporters and he led a 1980 strike which resulted in his ban from journalism for several years. After his house arrest, he was a Nieman Fellow. After his fellowship was complete in 1985, he worked for Sowetan. In 1986, he founded the New Nation (defunct since 30 May 1997), before he was arrested by police and held without a trial as part of the emergency and mass arrests in South Africa at the time. The newspaper was editorially aligned with the African National Congress, which stated on its masthead: "The media of the powerless." At the time it was South Africa's largest black newspaper. After his release from a 2-year detention and after the ban was lifted on the ANC, Sisulu served as Nelson Mandela's press secretary and also the director of information of the African National Congress.
...
Wikipedia