Eduardo Chivambo Mondlane
(1920-1969)

President of FRELIMO, 1962-1969

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3. The Assassination of Eduardo Mondlane
3 February 1969

Eduardo Mondlane headstone

Above: Mondlane was originally buried in Dar es Salaam, where his gravestone is now in a state of some neglect. Photo: Sawiche Wamunza.

Eduardo Mondlane was assassinated by means of a parcel bomb in Dar es Salaam on 3 February 1969, in circumstances that have never been completely explained. The presumption is that he was killed by the Portuguese PIDE/DGS, but it happened at a time when the movement was still split – despite the successful holding of the II Congress in Niassa in July 1968 – between advocates of social revolution, and those who opposed the idea. His death created a drawn-out leadership crisis in FRELIMO that was only effectively resolved by the assumption of the presidency by Samora Machel in April 1970.

Below are a handful of links to a small selection of newspaper items on the assassination and its aftermath.

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MHN Resources

◊ 1969
Eduardo Mondlane [obituary]. African Communist, no.37, 2nd quarter 1969, pages 5-6. Click here to view or download a PDF file.

◊ 1969
Samora Moisés Machel. Um inimigo implacável do colonialismo e do imperialismo. Notícias, 3 February 1981. The Central Committee eulogy read by Machel at Mondlane's funeral. Click here to view or download a PDF file.

◊ 14 February 1969
Murder by the book. Time, 14 February 1976. Click here to view, may require subscription.

◊ 12 November 1969
Mozambique: le FRELIMO en crise. Jeune Afrique, no.463, 12 November 1969. Click here to view or download a PDF file.

◊ 10 January 1982
Iain Christie. Uma Carreira como assassino. Domingo, 10 January 1982. A short item about Casimiro Emérico Rosa Teles Jordão Monteiro, a professional hitman from Goa who was involved in the murder of Humberto Delgado. Click here to view or download a PDF file.

◊ 11 February 1994
Domingos Arouca. Quem matou Mondlane? Savana, 11 February 1994. Click here to view or download a PDF file.

◊ 25 March 1994
Francisca Dhlakama Resposta a Casadei. Savana, 25 March 1994, page 8. Click here to view, may require subscription.

◊ 20 February1998
Extradição de António Rosa Casaco, Lisbon, 20 February 1998. 1 page. Click here to view or download a PDF file.

◊ 21 February 1998
O ressuscitar dos fantasmas: PIDE matou Mondlane. Expresso, Lisbon, 21 February 1998. Click here to view or download a PDF file.

◊ 27 June 1999
Quem matou Eduardo Mondlane. Domingo, 27 June 1999. Click here to view or download a PDF file.

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