Cape Town – Acclaimed photographer, cultural activist, and jazz visionary Rashid Lombard has passed.
Family spokesperson, renowned photojournalist Benny Gool, said the 74-year-old jazz lover was surrounded by his loved ones when he passed away on Wednesday, 4 June 2025.
Born on 10 April 1951 in North End, Gqeberha, Rashid moved with his family to Cape Town in 1962.
Originally trained as an architectural draftsman and later as an industrial photographer, he began his career with construction giant Murray & Roberts.
In 1970, Rashid married Colleen Rayson.
The couple had three children: sons Chevan and Shadley; and daughter, Yana.
As a child in the Eastern Cape, Rashid experienced a diverse, harmonious community – Black, white, Coloured, Indian, and Chinese – until the brutal machinery of apartheid forcibly removed his friends to racially segregated areas, “never to be seen or heard of again.”
His political consciousness was later amplified through the influence of the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM).
Rashid went on to work as a freelance photographer and television sound recordist during the height of the anti-apartheid struggle.
“His lens captured the unrest and hope of a nation in transition for international media outlets including Agence France-Presse, the BBC, and NBC,” Gool said.
“Over the course of his career, he documented pivotal moments in South Africa’s journey to freedom, including the rise of the democratic movement in the 1980s, the release of Nelson Mandela in 1990, and the country’s first democratic elections in 1994.
“With democracy came the opportunity to fully embrace his other great passion – jazz.”
Rashid served as station manager at Fine Music Radio and later as programming manager at P4 Smooth Jazz Radio.
In 1997, Rashid founded espAfrika, the events management company behind one of his most enduring legacies: the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, which he launched in 2000 and directed until his retirement in 2014.
After stepping away from the festival, Rashid took over the digitisation of his archives, a task previously managed by Colleen.
He later partnered with the National Archives and the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) to make the collection publicly accessible online as a national heritage resource.
“His daughter will now carry this work forward. A gifted visual storyteller, Rashid published Jazz Rocks in 2010, edited by the late George Hallett,”‘ Gool said.
The book is a journey looking through the eye of Rashid’s camera – capturing music, people, and places that defined his life and work across the globe.
It offers a richly textured window into the vibrant world of jazz, reflecting not only the performances but the deep, spiritual connection between Rashid and the musicians he photographed.
More than a photobook, Jazz Rocks is a visual love letter to a culture and a life lived in rhythm.
Rashid’s work received widespread acclaim.
He was honoured with numerous awards for both his contributions to news photography and his impact on music and tourism.
In 2014, Rashid was awarded the prestigious National Order of Ikhamanga in Silver “for his excellent contribution to arts and culture and his dedication to promoting jazz music that has put South Africa on the map for many jazz enthusiasts around the world”.
“In 1986, legendary exiled photographer Ernest Cole, who had not held a camera for over a decade, borrowed Rashid’s and turned the lens on him- a gesture of deep respect and recognition,” recalled Gool.
Asked in a later interview about his legacy, Rashid responded: “No matter who you are – religion, race, male, female – you can achieve your dreams. I’m a true testament to that.”
Rashid is survived by his lifelong-partner Colleen Lombard, his sister Fazoe Sydow and his children Chevan, Shadley, Yana, Zach, and Daniel, and his grandchildren Liya, Aydin-Malik, Oliver, Amir Uccio, and Stella Ahed.
His beloved granddaughter Hannah passed away in 2002.
Rashid will be buried according to Muslim rites.
