It would be easy to assume that the extensive collection of images by pioneering Kenyan photo-journalist, Priya Ramrakha, on show at The University of Johannesburg’s FADA Gallery, is merely a depiction of anti-colonialist and post-Independence existence. However, it is with the inclusion of photographs that capture moments in the lives of the everyday citizen that we notice how vast the narratives are that Ramrakha weaves. His photographs speak volumes of a life lived on this continent.
Titled A Pan African, Perspective 1950 – 1968, this first comprehensive survey is made possible by the recent discovery of Ramrakha’s photographic archive in Nairobi. It provides a visual map of the global travels of one of the first African photojournalists to work for Time and LIFE Magazines.
The hallmark of Ramrakha’s photography can be described as showing an alternative view to the colonial rhetoric of the 1950s media houses which reinforced British interests. An example of this can be seen in his coverage of the Mau Mau anti-colonialist movement, which had been described by the British media both as an ‘irrational force of evil’ and as a ‘Communist-inspired terrorist threat.’ Ramrakha instead offers images of roundups, detentions and urban protests. They tell another narrative, one which speaks of the brutal backlash and State of Emergency unrest brought on by the colonial administration. His images testify to the mass displacement, forced hard labour and countless unheard cases of rape and murder of indigenous peoples. Kenyans detained in camps under the State of Emergency (1953), for example, depicts a group of Kenyans seated on the ground, whilst a smaller group of armed policemen stand watch over them. Another photograph, Roundups in Nairobi, shows a mass of Kenyans being transported behind a truck. These, amongst others, show the intimidation and exploitation of the colonial forces over the indigenous.
Ramrakha’s images noticeably centre around everyday events, people and experiences leaning towards the political aspirations and contributions of communities in Kenya. He was also highly influenced by the growth of independence and the Pan-Africanist movement, reflected by his photographs of leading figures such as Tom Mboya and Jomo Kenyatta. During his years studying in the United States this trend continues, focusing on socio-political subjects such as public protests and civil rights activists. Even in the States, he reveals an interest in the common man, juxtaposing street scenes with images of Malcolm X and Miriam Makeba. In his 1960 photograph showing children at play at the Los Angeles TWA terminal he offers a counterpoint to the racial socio-political feeling of the time.
Upon his return to Kenya in the early 1960s, Ramrakha was granted more access to the assignments he favoured, due to his appointments to LIFE and Time. This allowed him to document pivotal moments of independence on the continent. These included the coverage of colonial and post-independence conflicts ranging from the heated warfare in French Somaliland, to the exchanges of fire between Federal and Biafran troops in Nigeria. Aided through his use of composition and cropping which emphasises the sense of the unknown and of fear, Ramrakha amplifies the scope and scale of each conflict. In one image, French troops purposely charge forward into an unseen conflict, while in another civilians lie on the ground while a British soldier fires out of shot. It was during his coverage of the conflict between Federal and Biafran troops in Nigeria that lead to his death, near Owerri, Southern Nigeria on 2 October 1968, when caught in brutal cross-fire.
Priya Ramrakha’s A Pan African Perspective 1950 – 1968 is more than a retrospective collection of images speaking of anti-colonialist and post-Independence existence of a bygone era. They are whispered retellings of histories which are relived in today’s grapplings with decolonisation sentiment and global mass displacement. They speak to me of a desperate need to believe again in the positive reformative quality of mass media. In an era when words sound hollow, this comprehensive survey of images is a welcomed change of pace to anyone who doubts the power of images.