24/09/2024
I've learnt with deep sorrow and shock of the passing of a legend of our time sifelani mangani.it seemed good to me also to pay a tribute to mkoma sifelani as I used to call him.
I come from an era where I have had the privilege of being photographed by some of the greatest of all time the likes of marongwe,maoresa,and now sifelani.these in my view were the best in our time but mkoma sifelani is unique in his own right . I will take you through part of his journey.
Sifelani become a photographer in Norton like many in the town started from humble beginnings with a camera and a bicycle,later open a shop and was hailed by many for his quality,dedication to his craft and humility.my most priced encounter with him was when I was a young photographer at vimbai high school,I had made a name for myself but my business was experiencing hard times. At that moment in 1999 my final year at the school there was a prize giving day,I managed to persuade the organisers to give me exclusive photography rights and they did(it was me displaying my extra ordinary business skills)the challenge was however the fact that I did not have the capacity to tackle this major contract and had to partner with someone,I then approached mkoma sifelani explained that I had exclusive photography rights to the event,he understood and asked "so how do you want me to help" I told him I needed a camera and 5 films to do it ,to my surprise he agreed.on the day a lot of photographers came hoping for a shoot little did they know I had all the business in my pocket.mkoma sifelani gave me a very good camera and films to cover the event but did not show up allowing me to be in the limelight and not steel that from me .the event was a success and earned me respect in the industry from all photographers of the time,he went further in sending me to the Tsvangirai residence to photograph a young boy on his birthday (at the time didn't know Tsvangirai and little did I know the young boy would be my MP years later) Mr sifelani also was innovative enough to survive during the time when we put down our cameras in the era of cellphone photography.he showed us it can be done with dedication.rest in peace mkoma you will surely be missed
