CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) 鈥 Sebabatso Mosamo, an Associated Press visual journalist in South Africa who documented elections, the COVID-19 pandemic and her country鈥檚 struggle with poverty and violence, has died. She was 39.
Mosamo died at a hospital in Johannesburg on Saturday after falling ill a week earlier, a family spokesperson said. No cause of death was immediately released.
Known by colleagues and friends as 鈥淪ebs,鈥 Mosamo joined the AP in 2021 after working for several prominent South African news outlets, using photos and video to tell in her country and continent.
鈥淲e are at a loss for words and our hearts are shattered,鈥 Mosamo’s family said in a statement. She 鈥渢ook so much pride in her work and family,鈥 the family said.
Described as fearless by current and former colleagues 鈥 and always willing to speak up for what she believed was right 鈥 Mosamo had been selected this year to participate in an internal leadership program for AP employees.
鈥淚t would have been wonderful to witness more of her impressive trajectory as an impactful journalist. It is heartbreaking that we will not,鈥 said Andrew Drake, AP鈥檚 deputy director of news for Africa.
When she was 26 and still a student, Mosamo in 2012 covered South Africa鈥檚 Marikana massacre, in which striking mineworkers killed two police officers and two security guards, and police responded by fatally shooting more than 30 miners.
It remains the most lethal use of force by South African police since the end of the apartheid system of racial segregation in 1994 and is a tragedy seared into the nation鈥檚 psyche.
Arriving at Marikana a day after the shootings and with miners still in a tense standoff with police, Mosamo stood out as one of the few female journalists. She only had an entry-level camera with no zoom lens, so to capture images still recognized years later she put herself as close as possible to the angry miners, despite the threat of more violence.
鈥淲e call it zooming in with your feet,鈥 Mosamo said in an interview with South African television station Newzroom Afrika on the 10th anniversary of the massacre.
鈥淚 wanted to capture some of the human element,鈥 said Mosamo, who connected with her subjects on a personal level and managed to find moments of humor and kindness amid the violence; a colleague photographed miners beside her looking fascinated as she shared images she had taken of them.
Mosamo co-wrote a book on Marikana, titled 鈥淲e Are Going To Kill Each Other Today,鈥 and produced a documentary about violence in rural South Africa.
South African photographer Felix Dlangamandla, a former colleague who collaborated with Mosamo and others on the book, said she always wanted to know more.
鈥淪he always felt she was still learning. She was so dedicated,鈥 he said.
Mosamo is survived by a young daughter, her mother and two brothers.
Aware of her tendency to become engrossed in her work, Mosamo had an alarm on her cellphone that would shrill every weekday at 4:30 p.m. It was a reminder that she had an hour to pick up her daughter from child care or make plans for friends or family to get her.
鈥淪ebabatso was passionate about the work she did, and her journalism was integral to the world鈥檚 understanding of her home country. But you only needed to speak with her for a few minutes to see that her true passion was being a mother,” said AP Executive Editor and Senior Vice President Julie Pace. “We are heartbroken for her daughter and entire family.鈥
Mosamo covered tumultuous elections in Zimbabwe, the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on the poorest South Africans, a cholera crisis in Zambia, and the seismic 2024 vote in South Africa that ended the African National Congress party鈥檚 30-year majority.
One of her most memorable stories was capturing how poor, rural South African children still walk miles to get to school 鈥 yet she reminisced more about getting to know them and their families than taking the photos and video.
She was also energized by discussing story ideas and collaborating with colleagues, said Vicki Ferrar, an AP news manager and mentor to Mosamo. 鈥淪he fought so hard for stories and getting them right.鈥
