Johannesburg – Visual Journalist Sebabatso Mosamo has died at the age of 39.
Her employer, the Associated Press(AP), reports that Mosamo died at a hospital in Johannesburg on Saturday after falling ill a week earlier.
Quoting a family spokesperson, the AP said, “No cause of death was immediately released”.
Mosamo’s family said in a statement: “We are at a loss for words and our hearts are shattered.
“She took so much pride in her work and family,” the family said.
AP said the visual journalist documented elections in South Africa, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the country’s struggle with poverty and violence.
Known by colleagues and friends as “Sebs,” Mosamo joined the AP in 2021 after working for several prominent South African news outlets, using photos and video to tell intimate stories about people in her country and continent.
Described as fearless by current and former colleagues — and always willing to speak up for what she believed was right — Mosamo had been selected this year to participate in an internal leadership program for AP employees.
“It would have been wonderful to witness more of her impressive trajectory as an impactful journalist. It is heartbreaking that we will not,” said Andrew Drake, AP’s deputy director of news for Africa.
