Alfred Kumalo was born in Johannesburg and matriculated at the Wilberforce Institute in Evaton. Kumalo began his working career as a journalist in 1951, freelancing for Bantu World, where he took photographs to illustrate his stories. In the course of an illustrious career as a documentary photographer for over fifty years, Kumalo has documented the life and times of a changing South Africa. During his time as a documentary photographer, Kumalo often documented events amongst other things. Events included the Treason Trial, the Rivonia Trial, trade union activity in the 1970s, and the rise of the Black Consciousness Movement. Kumalo’s work has been published in both local and international newspapers, for example The Observer (UK), New York Times, New York Post and the The Sunday Independent (UK).
