Len Sak (1931–2026)

Len Sak began his career creating political cartoons for the SA Jewish Frontier and the Bantu World from 1956 to 1964. He also created a weekly cartoon, Saklines, for the Sunday Times, before moving to London to work for The Observer.

He is best known as the creator of the character Jojo, still remembered with great affection by his black readers. Jojo served as the mouthpiece of the urban black man — a moral character concerned with the effects of smoking, alcohol abuse, and drunk driving. After 1976, Jojo increasingly reflected political commentary as well.

Sak was a sharp critic of South Africa’s domestic policy, speaking out against injustice and in support of a new, democratic South African society. In 1985, SABC TV2 featured Jojo in a 52-episode weekly series with a live Zulu soundtrack.

Sak particularly enjoyed drawing for black readers, finding it a meaningful challenge to depict and engage with a culture so different from his own. He caricatured Dr. Hendrik Verwoerd with venom, comparing him to Frankenstein’s monster. Seventy of his cartoons are held on the Nelson Mandela Foundation’s website.

The works held in the Natalie Knight Art Collection relate to the Mandela era and the Jojo Character originally published in the Sowetan between 1990 and 1994.