SOWETAN | Farewell Bra Joe, we’re richer for your example

Latakgomo entered the profession at a time when apartheid’s censorship machinery sought to choke independent reporting. Newspapers serving black communities were surveilled, constrained by punitive laws, and subjected to intimidation. Yet he and his peers persisted, building institutions of credibility under hostile conditions.

His leadership at the Sowetan demonstrated that rigorous reporting, ethical judgement and editorial courage could coexist, even when the state attempted to curtail the public’s right to know. Latakgomo emerged not merely as an editor but as a mentor who nurtured young journalists into professionals guided by conscience and craft. Today, his passing coincides with another inflection point for the media.

Digital transformation has upended the traditional newspaper model, eroding print circulation and advertising revenues while fragmenting audiences. The rise of online platforms has expanded access to information, but it has also accelerated misinformation, weakened newsroom sustainability, and hollowed out institutional memory. In this turbulent environment, Latakgomo’s values — editorial independence, verification, and service to the public interest — are more necessary than ever.

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The tools may have changed; the ethical obligations have not. Latakgomo’s love for football, which earned him induction into the Hall of Fame in 2009 and a Lifetime Achievement Award from Safa in 2011, reflected a broader humanism. He understood sport as a social mirror — an arena of community, struggle and aspiration — and he insisted that it be covered with the same seriousness accorded to politics or the economy.

Recognition from his peers affirmed a career that combined professional excellence with public purpose. In its statement, thePress Councilsaid Latakgomo “stood out as a kind and caring colleague who treated everyone with respect and warmth”. That testimony matters in an industry that’s too often driven by speed, ego and commercial pressure. Latakgomo’s example reminds us that leadership is as much about character as it is about competence.

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