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FRELIMO and the Frelimo Party
1962-1991
Dossier MZ-0011
Page One: 1962-1963
FRELIMO or Frelimo, the front, the party or – pardon the Brazilianism – the partidão, whatever the perspective or the terminology, there can be no doubt that the Frente de Libertação de Moçambique has been for nearly half a century by far the most important political organisation in Mozambique.
This dossier devoted to Frelimo documentation will consist of a series of chronologically-organised pages, of which this is the first. We make no claim to offer a systematic or complete collection of texts by or about Frelimo. However, many of documents and reports – of the Comité Central, the Bureau Político, the congresses, and so on – are increasingly difficult to track down, and MHN believes that continued access to the full historical record is essential.
Terminology: as MHN understands it, until 1977, when the front became a party, it is correct to refer to FRELIMO in capitals; after that date, the acronym became a word, and so one should write Partido Frelimo or the Frelimo Party. While interesting, this seems unduly picky, so MHN will just use «Frelimo», assim. As for the documents and clippings, we follow their own usage.
This page covers the first two years of Frelimo’s existence, from its foundation on 25 June 1962 in Dar es Salaam. It is organised into two sections. The first presents links to a handful of key documents relating to the founding meeting in June, and to the first Congress in September, most of which are available on the Aluka website, for which a subscription or institutional access is required.
The second part presents a subset of clippings taken from Tanzanian newspapers in both Kiswahili and English, apparently between April 1962 and September 1963, by the then deputy information secretary of Frelimo, Paul Bauke, whose signature appears on several. English translations are provided for Kiswahili headlines; fairly crude machine translations of texts, which of course need to be captured, can be initiated here. Not all these clippings are directly concerned with Frelimo or Mozambique. However, several deal with the legal difficulties encountered by Jacinto Veloso and João Ferreira when they flew to Dar es Salaam in a Portuguese military aircraft, hoping to join the struggle [see below].
The inner life of the Front is not revealed in these newspaper clippings, which do not report disputes around e.g. resentment of Marcelino dos Santos as a mestiço intellectual of allegedly Cabo Verdian origin; or of Leo Milas, accused of being a CIA spy. What they do report is a largely Tanzanian view of what the Mozambican struggle was about.
I am grateful to Sawiche Wamunza, Usia Ledama and Roy Ledama for their generous assistance in decoding the headlines of the articles from the Tanganyikan newspapers Mwafrika and Ngurumo; in those days, journalists working in Kiswahili were not as sophisticated as their present-day counterparts, and the reports are not always entirely unambiguous.
Documents from the First Congress
◊ 23-28 June 1962
Frente de Libertação de Moçambique. 1º Congresso, Dar-es-Salaam, 23-28 de Setembro de 1962: documentos Dar es Salaam: Comité Central, Departamento de Informação e Propaganda, 1962. 41 pages. Available from the Aluka website [subscription or institutional access required]. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 20 Mb. This document includes: Apresentação – Speech by Rashidi Kawawa – Speech by Oscar Kambona – Speech by Marcelino dos Santos – Speech by Eduardo Mondlane – Declaração Geral – Resolutions on CONCP and the UN – and various messages. Pour lire ou télécharger une version française, cliquez ici [786 kb.].
◊ 23-28 June 1962
Frente de Libertação de Moçambique. Históricos documentos do I Congresso da FRELIMO. Tempo [Maputo] no.330 (30 January 1977), pages 24-31. Click here to download a PDF file, size 1.6 Mb. This file includes a short introduction, an untitled document from the Central Committee, Mondlane’s speech, the Declaração Geral, the Resolution on the CONCP, the Mensagem ao Povo Português, messages to the Tanzanian Prime Minister and to African Heads of State, a message to PAFMECSA, and a resolution on the United Nations.
Above: Eduardo Mondlane [centre] leaving a session of the I Congress in Dar es Salaam, flanked by David Mabunda, left (who had just been elected secretary-general of FRELIMO). Just behind them is Marcelino dos Santos, elected secretary for external relations. Mabunda – formerly vice-president of UDENAMO – parted company with FRELIMO (either by expulsion or resignation), along with Gumane and others in January 1963. He had been involved in the disputes around the membership of Leo Milas. The other people in the photograph are Mozambicans. Below: Eduardo Mondlane [standing], waiting to speak at the I Congress. Seated to the left is Marcelino dos Santos.
◊ 26 June 1962
Frente de Libertação de Moçambique. Press release: Mozambique political parties fuse. Dar es Salaam, 26 June 1962. 1 page. This document announces the merger of MANU and UDENAMO; there is no mention of UNAMI. Available from the Aluka website [subscription or institutional access required]. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 64 kb.
◊ 1962
Frelimo membership card, 1962-1965. The inside of a Frelimo membership card, unused, from the early 1960s. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 16 kb.
◊ 6 July 1962
Frente de Libertação de Moçambique. Press release: First annual conference, Mozambique Liberation Front. Dar es Salaam, 6 July 1962. 1 page. Signed by Mondlane, this release announces an ‘annual conference’ to take place between 13-16 September 1962. Available from the Aluka website [subscription or institutional access required]. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 55 kb.
◊ 1962
Frente de Libertação de Moçambique. Mozambique Liberation Front: constitution. Dar es Salaam, 1962. 5 pages. Available from the Aluka website [subscription or institutional access required]. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 188 kb.
FRELIMO Gathers Information, 1962-1963
◊ 15 July 1962
Refugee camp official took £120: jailed. Tanganyika Standard [Dar es Salaam], 15 July 1962. Augustino Semwaiko of Mugulani Refugee camp is sentenced for theft. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 34 kb.
◊ 1 December 1962
Kiongozi wa Frelimo katiwa ndani [Kiswahili: Frelimo leader detained]. Ngurumo [Dar es Salaam], 1 December 1962. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 480 kb.
◊ 2 December 1962
Deportees in freedom bid. Sunday Nation [Nairobi], 2 December 1962. Some MANU members who were being deported from Zanzibar are taken under the wing of Frelimo in Dar es Salaam. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 58 kb.
◊ 2 December 1962
Nigerian UN man warns Portugal. Sunday Nation [Nairobi], 2 December 1962. A member of the Nigerian delegation to the UN, Shettima Ali Monguno (1926- ), issues a strong statement condemning Portuguese policies in Africa. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 76 kb.
◊ 2 December 1962
Uganda slams Portugal. Sunday Nation [Nairobi], 2 December 1962. Report of a debate before the Trusteeship Committee. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 44 kb.
◊ 19 December 1962
Utawala wa Mreno unazidi kunuka [Kiswahili: The Portuguese authorities stink even more]. Ngurumo [Dar es Salaam], 19 December 1962. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 510 kb.
◊ 31 January 1963
Afro-Asia yadai mambo matano: uhuru uchumi bila minyororo, ukoloni ukome, kudumisha kwa mila na starehe [Kiswahili: Afro-Asia demands five things: economic independence without restrictions, an end to colonialism, strengthened culture and entertainment]. Ngurumo [Dar es Salaam], 31 January 1963. The story does not in fact specify five demands, and the headline only lists three. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 573 kb.
◊ 31 January 1963
Mkutano juu ya uhuru wa Afrika [Kiswahili: Conference on African independence]. Ngurumo [Dar es Salaam], 31 January 1963. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 485 kb.
◊ 31 January 1963
Ukatili wa mreno [Kiswahili: The cruelty of the Portuguese]. Ngurumo [Dar es Salaam], 31 January 1963. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 102 kb.
◊ 5 February 1963
Wakoloni wako mavini - Moshi [Kiswahili: The colonists’ days are numbered - Moshi]. Ngurumo [Dar es Salaam], 5 February 1963. An extremely bluntly-worded headline tops a short report of a speech by Oscar Salathiel Kambona (1928-1997) in Moshi. MHN chooses a polite translation. It’s hard to imagine the word mavi [excrement] being used so casually in modern Swahili journalistic writing, although it’s less offensive than the direct English equivalent (cf. the colloquial expression of disbelief ‘mavi yako’). Kambona was the first Tanzanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and was later involved in various political adventures after splitting with Nyerere over the Arusha Declaration in February 1967. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 81 kb.
◊ 6 February 1963
Tangazo [Kiswahili: Announcement]. Ngurumo [Dar es Salaam], 6 February 1963. Announcement about the arrival of Eduardo Mondlane. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 21 kb.
◊ 8 February 1963
Dorris Day vipi? Hajambo Cairo! [Kiswahili: How’s Doris Day? Well and in Cairo!]. Ngurumo [Dar es Salaam], 8 February 1963. This story is one of two concerning a local and now forgotten scandal involving an unidentified Frelimo member and Harriet Lukindo, also known as Doris Day. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 32 kb.
◊ 9 February 1963
Tangazo [Kiswahili: Announcement]. Ngurumo [Dar es Salaam], 9 February 1963. Announcement requesting branches to submit membership lists and accounts. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 20 kb.
◊ 15 February 1963
Nani? Doris Day? [Kiswahili: Who? Doris Day?]. Ngurumo [Dar es Salaam], 15 February 1963. This story is one of two concerning a local and now forgotten scandal involving an unidentified Frelimo member and Harriet Lukindo, also known as Doris Day. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 45 kb.
◊ 15 March 1963
Mreno ashtakiwa na Tanganyika UNO [Kiswahili: Portuguese accused by Tanganyika at the United Nations]. Mwafrika [Dar es Salaam], 15 March 1963. This item is signed by Paul Bauke, deputy secretary for information. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 79 kb.
◊ 5 April 1963
Sikiliza [Kiswahili: Listen]. Ngurumo [Dar es Salaam], 5 April 1963. Reports on a journey by Eduardo Mondlane and Marcelino dos Santos to the United States to meet with the Africa Committee. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 35 kb.
◊ 13 April 1963
Wareno watashtakiwa vikubwa zaidi ya kosa hili [Kiswahili: Portuguese to be indicted for more serious offences]. Ngurumo [Dar es Salaam], 13 April 1963. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 158 kb.
◊ 17 April 1963
Frelimo yatunisha mfuko wake kwa ngoma za kisasa [Kiswahili: Frelimo raises funds with modern dances]. Ngurumo [Dar es Salaam], 17 April 1963. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 476 kb.
◊ 17 April 1963
Chama kimoja Frelimo. Ngurumo [Dar es Salaam], 17 April 1963. This appears to be a letter to the editor, and may be incomplete. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 22 kb.
◊ 20 April 1963
Wareno na korti [Kiswahili: Portuguese in court]. Mwafrika [Dar es Salaam], 20 April 1963. More on the legal difficulties of Jacinto Veloso and João Ferreira. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 548 kb.
◊ 22 April 1963
Wasiwasi wa wakimbizi wa Msumbiji: uhuru wa Wareno hatari kwa Frelimo [Kiswahili: Mozambican refugees fear that freeing the Portuguese is a danger to Frelimo]. Mwafrika [Dar es Salaam], 22 April 1963. The article argues against freeing Veloso and Ferreira without actually naming them. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 531 kb.
◊ 22 April 1963
Welensky kaua chama [Kiswahili: Welensky kills the party]. Mwafrika [Dar es Salaam], 22 April 1963. Sir Roy Welensky (1907-1991) was prime minister of the then Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 39 kb.
◊ 22 April 1963
Eduardo Mondlane. Kuzaliwa kwa umoja Msumbiji [Kiswahili: The birth of unity in Mozambique]. Mwafrika [Dar es Salaam], 22 April 1963. An interview with Eduardo Mondlane, president of Frelimo. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 143 kb.
◊ 23 April 1963
Frelimo: fliers cannot join us. Tanganyika Standard [Dar es Salaam], 23 April 1963. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 42 kb.
◊ 23 April 1963
Eduardo Mondlane. Frelimo yasimama [Kiswahili: Frelimo stands up]. Mwafrika [Dar es Salaam], 23 April 1963. An interview with Eduardo Mondlane, president of Frelimo. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 104 kb.
◊ 27 April 1963
Mkutano [Kiswahili: Meeting]. Ngurumo [Dar es Salaam], 27 April 1963. Announcement of a Frelimo meeting. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 72 kb.
Above: The cover of an early FRELIMO membership card, almost certainly for use in Tanganyika. Note that FRELIMO is identified in both Portuguese and English.
◊ 7 June 1963
Omar Bawaziri. Kila dakika tumfikirie Mreno, asema Chamatu [Kiswahili: Let us think about the Portuguese every minute, says Chamatu]. Mwafrika [Dar es Salaam], 7 June 1963. Chamatu was a FRELIMO activist in Tanga. He also condemned polygamy. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 120 kb.
◊ 13 June 1963
Frelimo plan procession. Tanganyika Standard [Dar es Salaam], 13 June 1963. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 27 kb.
◊ 17 June 1963
Frelimo talks in Kenya succesful. Tanganyika Standard [Dar es Salaam], 17 June 1963. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 29 kb.
◊ 18 June 1963
Frelimo holds Mueda day. Tanganyika Standard [Dar es Salaam], 18 June 1963. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 26 kb.
◊ 24 June 1963
Wareno watisha wananchi Newala [Kiswahili: The Portuguese threaten the citizens of Newala]. Ngurumo [Dar es Salaam], 24 June 1963. Newala is a frontier area in Mtwara region, where farming communities had been subjected to attack across the Rovuma river by low-flying Portuguese aircraft. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 501 kb.
◊ 26 June 1963
Kawawa asuta Amerika na Uingereza: acheni urafiki na adui zetu [Kawawa warns America and England: abandon friendship with our enemies]. Mwafrika [Dar es Salaam], 26 June 1963. Rashidi Mfaume Kawawa (1926-2009) was vice-president of Tanganyika at this time. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 85 kb.
◊ 26 June 1963
Watoro: tumechoka sasa baki vita tu [Kiswahili: Exiles: we are tired, war is the only option]. Mwafrika [Dar es Salaam], 26 June 1963. The article quotes an unnamed ANC spokesperson. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 68 kb.
◊ 5 July 1963
Waafrika waja juu: Mreno kafukuzwa katika mkutano [Kiswahili: The Africans object: the Portuguese are expelled from meeting]. Mwafrika [Dar es Salaam], 5 July 1963. Portugal is expelled from a meeting of the ILO. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 94 kb.
◊ 11 July 1963
Mtwara wamechacha: bendera ya Mreno imechomwa moto [Kiswahili: Mtwara erupts: Portuguese flag burned]. Ngurumo [Dar es Salaam], 11 July 1963. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 1.09 Mb.
◊ 13 July 1963
Frelimo arrest denied. Tanganyika Standard [Dar es Salaam], 13 July 1963. Denies reports in the Portuguese press that Mondlane had been arrested in the north of Mozambique. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 40 kb.
◊ 19 July 1963
Mreno apigwa vikali Guinea [Kiswahili: Portuguese attacked seriously in Guinea]. Mwafrika [Dar es Salaam], 19 July 1963. A confused report about an attack, presumably by the PAIGC. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 84 kb.
◊ 23 July 1963
Ubebeberu wa Mreno na Kaburu wajadiliwa UNO [Kiswahili: Portuguese and Boer capitalism discussed at the United Nations]. Ngurumo [Dar es Salaam], 23 July 1963. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 74 kb.
◊ 25 July 1963
Freedom or fight. Tanganyika Standard [Dar es Salaam], 25 July 1963. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 62 kb.
◊ 25 July 1963
Russia backs action warning to Portuguese: Lisbon replying. Tanganyika Standard [Dar es Salaam], 25 July 1963. Diplomatic exchanges in the UN Security Council. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 96 kb.
◊ 26 July 1963
UNO yamchachafya vikali Mreno [Kiswahili: United Nations gives the Portuguese a hard time]. Mwafrika [Dar es Salaam], 26 July 1963. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 489 kb.
◊ 26 July 1963
Urusi yasaidia Afrika [Kiswahili: Russia helped Africa]. Mwafrika [Dar es Salaam], 26 July 1963. Report from the United Nations. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 34 kb.
◊ 30 July 1963
Hali ya hatari Mozambique [Kiswahili: State of emergency in Mozambique]. Ngurumo [Dar es Salaam], 30 July 1963. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 59 kb.
◊ 1 August 1963
UNO yaamuru Ureno toa uhuru [Kiswahili: UN orders Portugal to grant independence]. Mwafrika [Dar es Salaam], 1 August 1963. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 115 kb.
◊ 3 August 1963
Amerika yasema ina imani nchi za Mreno zitakua huru [Kiswahili: The United States believes that all Portuguese colonies will achieve freedom]. Mwafrika [Dar es Salaam], 3 August 1963. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 87 kb.
◊ 3 August 1963
UNO na Mreno. Mwafrika [Dar es Salaam], 3 August 1963. Signed by Paul Bauke, deputy information secretary of Frelimo. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 70 kb.
◊ 5 August 1963
Wananchi 186 wamo nguvuni Msumbiji [Kiswahili: 186 people arrested in Mozambique]. Mwafrika [Dar es Salaam], 5 August 1963. The signature at the bottom of this clip is Paul Bauke, who was at the time Deputy Secretary for Information and Culture, and was presumably responsible for selecting significant news stories from the Tanzania and East African press. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 51 kb.
◊ 6 August 1963
186 held in Mozambique round-up. Tanganyika Standard [Dar es Salaam], 6 August 1963. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 40 kb.
◊ 7 August 1963
Tusilewe na uhuru wa Watanganyika [Kiswahili: Let’s not get intoxicated on the Tanganikans’ independence]. Mwafrika [Dar es Salaam], 7 August 1963. The story reports that some Mozambican women had complained that they were tired of their men fighting for independence with no results. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 64 kb.
◊ 8 August 1963
Mreno awanyeshwa mtindi wananchi waumbue Frelimo [Kiswahili: Portuguese make citizens drunk so that they will betray Frelimo]. Ngurumo [Dar es Salaam], 8 August 1963. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 65 kb.
◊ 14 August 1963
Uhuru ng’o kwa makoloni - Salazar [No independence for the colonies - Salazar]. Mwafrika [Dar es Salaam], 14 August 1963. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 481 kb.
◊ 16 August 1963
Mauaji ya karibuni Msumbiji [Kiswahili: recent killings in Mozambique]. Mwafrika [?] [Dar es Salaam], 16 August 1963. This clipping is undated and unsourced. It refers to three incidents on 7, 12 and 15 August 1963 and is likely therefore to be from the middle of that month and year. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 931 kb.
◊ 20 August 1963
Ukatili mbaya Msumbiji [Kiswahili: Extreme brutality in Mozambique]. Mwafrika [Dar es Salaam], 20 August 1963. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 35 kb.
◊ 13 September 1963
Mreno kaua watu 3 [Kiswahili: Three killed by the Portuguese]. Mwafrika [Dar es Salaam], 13 September 1963. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 37 kb.