17
Jul
Obituary: Johnny Clegg
Legendary South African musician and activist Johnny Clegg, 66, died on 16th July, after losing his five-year battle with pancreatic cancer.
Musicians, politicians, friends, and fans all over the world paid tributes to the White Zulu (Le Zoulou Blanc), expressing their admiration of him singlehandedly building bridges in a divided nation of South African Republic. President Cyril Ramaphosa talked about Juluka Johnny as 'an exceptional compatriot and icon of social cohesion and non-racialism... who was one of the early persons in the country to demonstrate the reality of... cultural integration'.
Johnny Clegg was buried on Wednesday afternoon at Westpark Cemetery, next day. The private burial was held according to Clegg's request, only attended with his family and some of the band members. Asimbonanga laph'ehleli khona (We have not seen him in the place where he is kept)...
Johnny Clegg was born on 7th June 1953 in Bacup, Lancashire (England), and moved to Johannesburg, South Africa, with his Rhodesian mother at the age of 6. When he was 17, together with Sipho Mchunu, their first band Juluka was formed. In 1986, during the height of Apartheid, Clegg partnered with Dudu Zulu to form his second inter-racial band Savuka.
Apart from recording several solo albums and enjoying international success through sold-out concerts wherever he performed, Johnny Clegg lectured at the South African Universities of the Witwatersrand and KwaZulu-Natal respectively. His involvement with black musicians often saw him arrested during Apartheid.
In 1991 the French Government awarded him with a Knight of Arts and Letters. In 2012 he received the Order of Ikhamanga from the South African government. In 2015 Clegg was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
Johnny Clegg is survived by his wife of 31 years, Jennifer (Jenny) Bartlett, whom he married in a traditional Zulu wedding on 26th March 1989 in the Natal province in South Africa, and their two sons, Jesse and Jaron.
