Ken Oosterbroek

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Ken Oosterbroek (born February 14, 1963 in Johannesburg , † April 18, 1994 in Thokoza ) was a South African photographer. He became known for his photos from townships , when there were sometimes civil war-like conditions.

Life

Oosterbroek did his military service in the South African border war in Angola . He then tried in vain for a long time to get work as a press photographer by offering illegally taken photos of other soldiers.

Oosterbroek was eventually hired as a press photographer for the daily newspaper The Star . After being named “South African Press Photographer of the Year” for the second time in 1991, he became the newspaper's chief photographer.

Together with photographers of about the same age Kevin Carter , Greg Marinovich and João Silva formed the informal Bang-Bang Club . They often took photos in townships and documented the bloody unrest between supporters of the African National Congress and Inkatha in the final phase of apartheid .

On April 18, 1994, Oosterbroek was shot dead while taking photos in Thokoza Township . His colleague Greg Marinovich was seriously injured. The shots were presumably fired by security forces of the National Peacekeeping Forces , which were supposed to avoid unrest between residents of the township.

Oosterbroek was married with a daughter from a previous relationship.

consequences

Kevin Carter committed suicide three months after Oosterbroeks death suicide . In his suicide note, he indicated that hopefully he would soon be "with Ken".

An investigation started in July 1995 came to the conclusion after 15 months that no one was responsible for the fatal shots at Oosterbroek.

Honors and reception

  • 1989, 1991 and 1994: First prize at the Ilford Award for South African Press Photographer of the Year
  • 1992: Second prize in the World Press Photo competition in the General News category
  • In 2014 Thuli Mbatha received the first Ken Oosterbroek Fellowship Award.

literature

motion pictures

  • The Bang-Bang Club. Canada / South Africa 2010

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c portrait at africansuccess.org (English), accessed on November 3, 2014
  2. ↑ Article about Carter at time.com (archive version from 2013) ( Memento from December 28, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (English), accessed on November 4, 2014
  3. ↑ Description at archive.worldpressphoto.org (English), accessed on November 2, 2014
  4. ↑ Report at highbeam.com ( Memento from November 15, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
personal data
SURNAME Oosterbroek, Ken
BRIEF DESCRIPTION South African photographer
DATE OF BIRTH February 14, 1963
PLACE OF BIRTH Johannesburg
DATE OF DEATH April 18, 1994
Place of death Thokoza