South Africa and Mozambique pay tribute to Samora Machel

South Africa The former Mozambican president and freedom fighter Samora Machel was commemorated on Monday during a joint ceremony organized by South Africa and Mozambique to mark the 40th anniversary of his death in a mysterious plane accident. "This is a place that must be preserved and known, because my father and the three other people who died here gave their lives for the liberation of South Africa. They were in Zambia; they went there specifically to discuss matters related to the border states, but above all to prepare and set up the independence of South Africa. They therefore died for this nation," said Josina Ziyaya Machel, daughter of Samora Machel. The ceremony took place in Mbuzini, a locality in the South African province of Mpumalanga, located near the site of the accident that caused his death in 1986. Samora Machel led Mozambique from its independence from Portuguese colonial rule in 1975 until his death. "Samora Machel ensured that a country like Mozambique, despite its youth as an independent state, had its own voice. A firm position, in accordance with his character, a unique voice and a respected presence within the community of nations," stated Daniel Chapo, president of Mozambique. An investigation into the causes of the plane crash that claimed the lives of Machel and more than 30 others attributed responsibility to the pilots, but 40 years later, questions remain about what actually happened. On October 19, 1986, Machel died alongside some of his government members, journalists, and crew when their plane crashed in the Lebombo mountains, in the South African region of Mbuzini, near the border between Mozambique and Eswatini. They were returning from a meeting of regional leaders in Zambia. An investigation conducted by South Africa attributed responsibility to the pilots and ruled out any hypothesis of criminal act. Mozambique believed that the crash had been orchestrated by the South African government of the time, under the apartheid regime, in order to assassinate Machel. Officials and experts from Mozambique and the former Soviet Union, where the aircraft was manufactured, rejected the findings of the report. One of the allegations claimed that a false beacon had been installed to divert the plane from its trajectory, but this hypothesis was ruled out by the investigation. The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, established after apartheid, also examined the accident but did not reach definitive conclusions, content with recommending the continuation of investigations.