Tragedy at Mbuzini, Mpumalanga, 19 October 2006
20 September 2006
This year the South African and Mozambican governments will jointly
commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the Samora Machel Tragedy. The late
President of Mozambique, Samora Machel and 34 individuals perished under
unresolved circumstances in 1986.
Various elements constitute the commemoration:
* the unveiling of an exhibition centre and an ablution block
* the opening of the Mbuzini Library
* widening of the road leading to the Samora Machel memorial site, paving of
the area and construction of a parking space
* building of an amphitheatre, fencing, installing water tanks on the memorial
site in Mbuzini
* erecting a commemorative statue of Samora Machel.
Official opening of the library
A new library located in Mbuzini has been built by the South African
Government. The library will officially be opened by Dr Z Pallo Jordan,
Minister of Arts and Culture, and Ms Nomsa Mtsweni, Member of the Executive
Council (MEC) responsible for Culture, Sport and Recreation in Mpumalanga
province. The library will be opened on Friday, 6 October 2006.
The library is part of Government's Legacy Projects initiative, established
to redress anomalies in South Africa's heritage landscape. The library will
benefit the community of Mbuzini and in addition to serving as a reference and
reading library, will house a collection of books in Portuguese as well as
books about Mozambique and its history.
Another important element of the commemoration is the upgrading of the
memorial site, which was originally constructed in 1999. The expansion of the
memorial site is a commitment by the government to pay tribute to an
outstanding African leader and give a rounded view of South Africa's (SA) rich
heritage. It is also an investment in infrastructure to stimulate tourism in
the area.
Commemorative public event
On 19 October an event will be held at the Samora Machel monument to
commemorate the 20th anniversary of the crash. The day's proceedings will begin
at 09h00. The Presidents of South Africa and Mozambique will officiate. The day
will be a solemn, dignified occasion characterised by a wreath laying ceremony,
choral music, gospel singing, poetry and a tree planting ceremony. There will
be a display of photographs memorialising those who perished in the tragedy. A
statue, which will be erected on the memorial site, was donated by the
Norwegian Anti-Apartheid Movement.
Historical background
On Sunday, 19 October 1986, at approximately 21h00, Samora Machel and his
companions flew back from an international meeting in Ndola Zambia, with
African leaders Kenneth Kaunda (of Zambia), Mobutu Sese Seko (of the former
Zaire) and Eduardo dos Santos (of Angola) to discuss the way forward with
Mozambique and Southern Africa. They flew in the presidential Tupolev Tu-134,
which crashed in the Lebombo mountain range near Mbuzini. Eight people survived
the crash. The impact of the crash on Mozambicans and Samora Machel's allies
was tremendous. Machel was regarded as a world statesman who had been
instrumental in shaping democratic Mozambique and pivotal in the struggle
against colonialism on the African continent. Many Mozambicans were convinced
that the crash was the result of sabotage, masterminded by the apartheid regime
in South Africa.
While there were widespread suspicions both nationally and internationally
about the culpability of the apartheid regime, no conclusive evidence emerged,
even during SA's Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings (December 1995 -
March 2002).
Hours after the crash Mozambique and South Africa agreed that an
international commission of inquiry should be established with the
participation of the International Civil Aviation Organisation. In terms of the
Chicago Convention of 20 October 1986, South Africa as the state on whose
territory the crash had occurred, would head the investigation. South Africa
was obliged to work in partnership with the state of aircraft ownership
(Mozambique), and the state of manufacturer (the Soviet Union). However, both
the then Soviet Union and Mozambique did not feel they were given the status of
equal partners and withdrew from the forensic investigation after the
preliminary stages.
Nine years after the crash, the then Department of Arts, Culture, Science
and Technology erected the Samora Machel memorial, which was unveiled by the
first democratically elected South African head of state, former President
Nelson Mandela, on 19 January 1999.
"May this memorial serve as a beacon of the new morality that must emerge
strong if we are to bring lasting improvements to the lives of our people",
stated President Mandela.
Biography of Samora Machel
Samora Machel was born to a peasant family in Chilembene Village, Gaza, in
Mozambique. His parents were forced by the Portuguese colonialists to grow
cotton rather than food crops so hunger was prevalent in the family. He
attended a Catholic school, but when not in class had to work in the fields. He
studied to become a nurse, one of the few professions open to Mozambican blacks
at the time. In the 1950s his parent's farmland was confiscated and given to
Portuguese settlers. To avoid starvation his relatives went to work in the
South African mines, under dangerous conditions. Shortly afterwards his brother
was killed in a mining accident.
His entry into politics has interesting facets. Machel was attracted to
Marxist ideas and began his political activities in a hospital where he
protested against the fact that black nurses were paid less than whites doing
the same job. He later told a reporter that medical treatment for the
Mozambican poor was very bad. He said: "The rich man's dog gets more in the way
of vaccination, medicine and medical care than do the workers upon whom the
rich man's wealth is built."
His grandparents and great-grandparents had fought against Portuguese
colonial rule in the 19th century so it was not surprising that in 1962 Machel
joined the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO), which was founded
on 25 June 1962. His friend, Eduardo Chivambo Mondlane, was the first president
of this liberation movement. FRELIMO's primary goal was to create an
independent Mozambique. In April 1963 Machel arrived for military training in
Tanzania where he joined other Mozambicans.
In September 1964 he returned to Mozambique to lead FRELIMO's first
guerrilla attack against the Portuguese in Cabo Delgado province in Northern
Mozambique. By 1970 Machel had become commander-in-chief of the FRELIMO army
after Eduardo Chivambo Mondlane was assassinated in Dar es Salaam on 3 February
1969. By then FRELIMO had established itself among Mozambique's peasantry.
Machel said that his most important goal was to get the people "to understand
how to turn the armed struggle into a revolution" and to realise how essential
it was "to create a new mentality to build a new society."
That goal was soon achieved. The FRELIMO army had weakened the colonial
power and after the Portuguese colony's coup in 1974, most Portuguese left
Mozambique. Machel's revolutionary government then took over and he became
independent Mozambique's first president on 25 June 1975. At home he quickly
put his Marxist principles into practice by calling for the nationalisation of
Portuguese plantations and property and by having the FRELIMO government
establish schools and health clinics for the peasants. As an internationalist,
Machel allowed revolutionaries fighting white minority regimes in Rhodesia
(Zimbabwe) and South Africa to train and operate in Mozambique.
These regimes retaliated by forming a rebel group called Mozambican National
Resistance (RENAMO) to destroy schools and hospitals built by FRELIMO and to
sabotage railway lines and hydroelectric facilities. The Mozambican economy
suffered from these depredations. Nevertheless the country kept its faithful
allies, such as the former Soviet Union, who were supportive of Mozambique for
a considerable period spanning the anti-colonial struggle to the establishment
a democratic independent state in the face of an unrelenting onslaught by
Mozambique's enemies. Throughout his presidency Machel was a popular
leader.
Commemoration
The governments of South Africa and Mozambique call upon the people of
Mozambique and South Africa to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Samora
Machel Tragedy. The event will take place at the Samora Machel memorial site in
Mbuzini, Nkomazi Municipality, in Mpumalanga province from 09h00 on Thursday,
19 October 2006.
"My children, some friends and I think it is time to, serenely, bestow
Samora:
* to those who did not know him
* to those who remember a little of him
* to those who lively remember him.
Whether because they worshipped him or because they hated him.
It is time for us to accept that he is in dissolutely part of us, because he
is our History. It is time for us to demystify him; we should look at him
frontally. We should recognise his virtues, his defects in his real human
dimension.
Yes, in the history of the liberation of Mozambique, in the history of the
liberation of Africa, particularly of Southern Africa, Samora is
indisputable.
We have but to preserve him."
Graca Machel (Samora: Man of the People: Antonio Sopa; Maguero editores;
2001)
Enquiries:
Sammy Mpatlanyane
Tel: (013) 766 5014/17/18
Cell: 082 923 0550
Website: http://www.samoramachel.info
Andile Xaba
Tel: (012) 441 3010
Cell: 082 377 6627
Acknowledgements:
Documentation Centre for Samora Machel
Draft programme
20th Anniversary of the Samora Machel Mbuzini Tragedy, Thursday, 19th October
2006, Mbuzini Mpumalanga province
Programme Directors: Mozambique: Deputy Minister of Education and Culture:
Dr Luis Covane; South Africa: MEC for Culture Sports and Recreation: Ms Nomsa
Mtsweni
09h00: VIP Guests and General Public arrive at Monument site
(All guests to be seated by 10h30 before the arrival of heads of state)
10h45: Arrival of President of the Republic of South Africa and Mrs Mbeki to be
received and conducted to the holding room by Minister of Arts and Culture and
the Premier of Mpumalanga Province.
10h50: Arrival of the President of the Republic of Mozambique and Mrs Guebuza
to be received by the President of the Republic of South Africa and his
entourage. All proceed to the holding room.
11h00: Opening:
* National Anthem of the Republic of Mozambique sung by the Coral de Macandza e
Makwayela
* National Anthem of the Republic of South Africa sung by Africa Sings
Choir
11h10: Welcome Remarks: Mpumalanga Premier Mr Thabang Makwetla
11h20: Tree planting ceremony:
* President of the Republic of South Africa
* President of the Republic of Mozambique
11h40: Wreath laying ceremony
* President of the Republic of South Africa
* President of the Republic of Mozambique
* Premier of Mpumalanga Province
* Families of victims of Mbuzini Tragedy
* Survivors of the Mbuzini Tragedy [8 members, of which one passed away but
will be represented]
12h10: Moment of Prayer
* (Mozambique Muslim and Christian faith)
12h20: Cultural Item:
* Rendition by Mbuzini poet, Ms Nomthandazo Shungube
12h30: Remarks by the representative of the Families of the Mbuzini
Tragedy
12h40: Remarks by the Mozambique Minister of Education and Culture: Dr Aires
Ali
12h50: Speech by the President of the Republic of Mozambique
13h10: Speech by the President of the Republic of South Africa
13h30: Vote of Thanks: By the South African Minister of Arts and Culture: Dr Z
Pallo Jordan
13h40: Heads of State and their entourage depart to lunch
13h50: Lunch
14h30: End of official proceedings
Issued by: Department of Culture Sport and Recreation, Mpumalanga Provincial
Government
20 September 2006
