- Jazz legend Hugh Masekala has died at the age of 78 from prostate cancer
- South African anti-apartheid activist went into exile in UK and US in the 1960s
- His 1987 song ‘Bring Him Back Home’ for Nelson Mandela became an anthem
South African jazz musician and anti-apartheid activist Hugh Masekela has died at the age of 78.
Masekela died in Johannesburg after what his family said was a ‘protracted and courageous battle with prostate cancer’.
In the 1960s Masekela went into exile in the United Kingdom and the United States, using his music to spread awareness about South Africa’s system of white-minority rule.
Masekela repeatedly fused politics with his music, and many of his compositions were about the struggle for majority rule and full democratic rights in South Africa.
South African jazz musician and anti-apartheid activist Hugh Masekela has died in Johannesburg at the age of 78 after a battle with prostate cancer
His catchy upbeat 1987 song ‘Bring Him Back Home’ calling for Nelson Mandela’s release from prison became an international anthem for the anti-apartheid movement.
The trumpeter scored an international number one hit in 1968 with ‘Grazing In The Grass’ and later collaborated with musicians including Paul Simon and Herb Alpert.
Masekela returned to South Africa in 1990 after Mandela was freed and the ban on the African National Congress party was lifted.
In October last year, Masekela issued a statement that he had been fighting prostate cancer since 2008 and would have to cancel his professional commitments to focus on his health.
South African President Jacob Zuma said: ‘His contribution to the struggle for liberation will never be forgotten.’