Legendary South African jazz musician and anti-apartheid activist, Hugh Masekela has died at the age of 78 after a decade – long battle with prostate cancer.

According to a statement released by his family on Tuesday, Masekela died in Johannesburg, the South African capital, surrounded by family members after what they described as “a protracted and courageous battle with prostate cancer.”

The trumpeter, singer and composer popularly known as “Bra Hugh” started playing the horn at the age of 14 and quickly became an integral part of the 1950s jazz scene in the country’s capital as a member of the Jazz Epistles.

In the 1960s, he went into exile in the United Kingdom and the United States during which he collaborated with American Jazz legend, Harry Belafonte. He used his music to spread awareness about the oppressive system of white – minority rule in South Africa and the struggle for majority rule and full democratic rights in the country.

He had in October, last year issued a statement that he had been fighting prostate cancer since 2008 and would have to cancel his professional commitments to focus on his health.