South Africa, Mozambique mark Samora Machel memorial

South Africa and Mozambique are today commemorating 40 years since the death of former Mozambican president and liberation hero Samora Machel, who died in a plane crash on October 19, 1986.

The two countries are holding a joint memorial ceremony at Mbuzini in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province, near the Mozambique border, where Machel’s presidential aircraft crashed in the Lebombo Mountains.

Machel, who was Mozambique’s first president after the country gained independence from Portugal in 1975, died alongside 34 other people, including government officials, journalists and members of the aircraft’s crew.

The aircraft was returning from a regional meeting in Zambia when it crashed. The circumstances surrounding the accident have remained controversial for decades, with questions continuing over the possible causes of the tragedy.

Machel played a significant role in Mozambique’s struggle for independence and in the wider liberation movement in Southern Africa.

He became widely associated with the slogan “A luta continua,” which means “The struggle continues.”