Sumy Sadurni, Photojournalist Whose Focus Was East Africa, Dies at 32

Sumy Sadurni, a prolific photojournalist who documented human rights struggles, political resistance and gender points in East Africa via a piercing and intimate lens, died on March 7 in Kampala, Uganda. She was 32.

Her brother, Jorge Sadurni Carrasco, mentioned she died in a automotive accident.

Ms. Sadurni, a freelancer, traveled the world, however she was greatest identified for her work in her adopted nation, Uganda. Her pictures for Agence France-Presse appeared in among the world’s main newspapers, together with The New York Instances.

She reported on the fractious 2021 presidential election in Uganda, specializing in Bobi Wine, the opposition chief who challenged the nation’s longtime president, Yoweri Museveni.

On the morning of the vote depend, her Agence France-Presse colleague Michael O’Hagan mentioned in an interview, he and Ms. Sadurni had been at house with Mr. Wine. She was taking pictures earlier than the outcomes of the election had been introduced, however as an alternative of focusing solely on him, she additionally took portraits of his spouse, Barbie Kyagulanyi, an activist and political determine in her personal proper.

“It was basic Sumy,” Mr. O’Hagan mentioned, “as a result of she was mixing not simply the headline political story a couple of Uganda opposition chief who was below nice risk, but additionally coming at issues from a unique angle, analyzing Barbie’s perspective and her as a person.”

The election was a violent and contentious expertise: Mr. Wine and his supporters had been overwhelmed, arrested and tear-gassed, The Instances reported, as Mr. Museveni pushed to remain within the function he had held for 35 years. Outdoors observers decried the election as unfair after a significant web blackout simply earlier than the vote depend.

Ms. Sadurni’s pictures took an unflinching take a look at this social turmoil, and she or he usually discovered herself within the thick of violent marches and protests. In a remembrance on Twitter, Mr. Wine, who misplaced the election, wrote that she was by no means deterred from her work, even within the face of resistance.

Ms. Sadurni started working as a freelancer for Agence France-Presse in January 2018, the group mentioned. She was a member of the Worldwide Press Affiliation of Uganda, previously generally known as the International Correspondents’ Affiliation of Uganda.

Lots of Ms. Sadurni’s topics and viewers particularly related to her work centered on gender. A significant undertaking of hers concerned photographing survivors of acid assaults in Uganda, usually utilized by males towards their wives or girlfriends, as they fashioned a assist group and lobbied for a regulation that might enhance punishments for such acts.

Sally Hayden, a pal of Ms. Sadurni’s who covers Africa for The Irish Instances, mentioned in an interview that Ms. Sadurni’s work stood out due to her dedication to signify her topics’ autonomy and dignity.

She coated matters few journalists would contact, Ms. Hayden mentioned, citing for instance her collection of portraits of intercourse staff in Uganda as they organized after being denied governmental support in the course of the coronavirus pandemic.

Ms. Sadurni’s work was uncommon, Ms. Hayden added, as a result of in representing Africa it shied away from “a stereotypical picture of tragedy.” “The individuals in her photographs, she mentioned, “have energy; they’ve dignity; they’ve autonomy. Usually they’re smiling.”

Ms. Sadurni additionally took portraits of the Ugandan feminist activist and creator Stella Nyanzi, who wrote in a Fb put up that the 2 of them had develop into shut pals.

“The place a number of expatriates working and residing in Uganda use their experience within the service of the privileged abusers of oppressive energy,” Ms. Nyanzi wrote, “Sumy passionately deployed her expertise within the service of the underdogs.”

Sumaya Maria Sadurni Carrasco was born on Aug. 30, 1989, in Santiago, Chile, to Jorge Jose Sadurni Jammal and Maria Del Carmen DeCet Carrasco. She grew up in Chile and later lived in Mexico and Switzerland. She attended highschool on the Worldwide Faculty of Lausanne and went on to review journalism at College of the Arts London. She then earned a bachelor’s diploma in journalism from the College of Westminster. Her dissertation was on human rights protection in Chile.

Ms. Sadurni moved to Uganda, Mr. O’Hagan mentioned, after visiting a childhood pal there and turning into enamored with the nation.

She is survived by her dad and mom and her brother.

Along with being an acclaimed photographer, Ms. Sadurni was an authorized Canon pictures coach who supplied steerage to younger photojournalists in Uganda. After her loss of life, she was remembered by many as a mentor.

Liam Taylor, a journalist who serves as co-chairman of the Worldwide Press Affiliation of Uganda, mentioned in an announcement: “We marveled at her photos. We had been moved by them. However if you wish to discover her legacy, search for it within the younger photographers she mentored and impressed. They’re nonetheless on the market, taking the photographs that she now not can.”