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MBUZINI
The Death of Samora Machel
19 October 1986
Dossier MZ-0017
The Funeral of Samora Machel
28 October 1986
The funeral of Samora Machel took place in Maputo on 28 October 1986, and was attended by African leaders and by dignitaries from all over the world. The mood in the city was sombre and intense with emotion. The resources below consist of reports specifically relating to the funeral ceremony. The weekly magazine Tempo devoted the whole of its next week’s issue to the funeral and to the speeches made at the ceremony.
Above: The funeral procession, 28 October 1986. From left to right, Jorge Rebelo, Alberto Chipande and Marcelino dos Santos.
MHN Resources on President Machel’s Funeral
◊ 22 October 1986
Todos os restos mortais em Maputo. Notícias [Maputo] (22 October 1986). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 276 kb.
◊ 22 October 1986
Frelimo. Bureau Político; Assembleia Popular. Comissão Permanente; Conselho de Ministros. Funeral do chefe do estado marcado para terça-feira: comunicado do Bureau Político, da Comissão Permanente e do Conselho de Ministros. Notícias [Maputo] (22 October 1986). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 137 kb.
◊ 24 October 1986
Cde Machel’s body in state from today. Herald [Harare] (24 October 1986). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 42 kb. Samora’s body is to lie in state in the Maputo City Hall (Conselho Executivo) from 24 October.
◊ 24 October 1986
Tears for her president. New York Post [New York] (24 October 1986). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 313 kb. A brief story and a photograph of Graça Machel weeping on Samora’s coffin, with Marcelino dos Santos and Mama Maria Nyerere behind her.
◊ 24 October 1986
José Caetano. Their hero’s last return. Financial Mail [Johannesburg] (24 October 1986), p.61. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 90 kb. The bodies of Samora Machel, Alcântara Santos and Aquino de Bragança are brought back by helicopter from Mbuzini to Maputo.
◊ 25 October 1986
Crowds grieve as Machel passes. Herald [Harare] (25 October 1986). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 533 kb.
◊ 26 October 1986
Maputo mourns Samora Machel. City Press [Johannesburg] (26 October 1986). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 495 kb. Long, silent queues of people waited to pay their last respects as Samora lay in state. Many foreign dignitaries are expected to attend the funeral.
◊ 27 October 1986
Nations’ leaders arrive to mourn Machel. Herald [Harare] (27 October 1986). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 60 kb. Leaders from Cabo Verde, Cuba, Nicaragua, Zambia, the Soviet Union and other countries have started to arrive in Maputo to attend Samora’s funeral.
◊ 28 October 1986
Portuguese president attends funeral, meets Angolan leader. RTP radio broadcasts on 28 October 1986 reported in the Summary of World Broadcasts [London]. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 62 kb. President Mário Soares of Portugal attends the funeral and meets José Eduardo dos Santos ‘on the sidelines’.
◊ 28 October 1986
Pascal Mukondiwa. World to bid farewell to Africa’s hero. Herald [Harare] (28 October 1986). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 348 kb.
Above: A panaoramic view of the Praça dos Heróis near Mavalane airport in Maputo, during the funeral of Samora Machel on 28 October 1986. On the right can be seen the shallow «s»-shape of the wall with the mural depicting the independence struggle.
◊ 29 October 1986
Graveside vow to defend Mozambique. Herald [Harare] (29 October 1986). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 510 kb. Report on Marcelino’s hour-long eulogy at Samora’s funeral. For the full text in Portuguese, see below.
◊ 29 October 1986
Machel’s funeral. Public holiday announced for day of funeral; Cuban and Nicaraguan delegation arrive; Winnie Mandela refused permission to attend funeral; Buthelezi not allowed to attend funeral by Mozambicans (denial); S African trade union body calls for a minute’s silence for Machel. Summary of World Broadcasts [London] no.ME/8402 (29 October 1986), p.B/2-B/3. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 117 kb.
◊ 29 October 1986
President Machel’s funeral. A live relay of the funeral on Radio Mozambique on 29 October 1986 summarised bySummary of World Broadcasts [London]. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 46 kb.
◊ 29 October 1986
William Claiborne. Mozambicans bury revolutionary hero. International Herald Tribune [Paris] (29 October 1986). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 179 kb.
◊ 29 October 1986
Sheila Rule. In somber ceremony, Mozambique buries its leader. New York Times [New York] (29 October 1986). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 894 kb.
◊ 31 October 1986
President Machel’s widow visits grave. Herald [Harare] (31 October 1986). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 467 kb. Graça Machel takes her children Josina and Malengane to the Heroes Monument to visit the crypt where Samora is buried.
◊ 31 October 1931-6 November 1986
Philip van Niekerk. Mourning under a sombre grey sky. Weekly Mail [Johannesburg] (6 October 1931-6 November 1986). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 960 kb. With photographs of weeping Mozambican citizens.
◊ 2 November 1986
[Special issue]. Tempo [Maputo] no.838 (2 November 1986), p.1-96, colour covers. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 44.7 Mb. A very large file of the entire special issue of Tempo devoted to Samora’s funeral ceremonies.
◊ 2 November 1986
Lágrimas incontidas na homenagem derradeira. Tempo [Maputo] no.838 (2 November 1986), p.10-15. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 3.9 Mb.
◊ 2 November 1986
Pesar pela morte de Samora Machel: mensagens de condolências pela morte do líder moçambicano chegam de todo o mundo. Tempo [Maputo] no.838 (2 November 1986), p.64-69. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 8.5 Mb. Includes, inter alia, the full text in Portuguese of the letter from Nelson and Winnie Mandela.
◊ 2 November 1986
Povo que chora é povo que ama. Tempo [Maputo] no.838 (2 November 1986), p.2-9. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 6.3 Mb. A photographic essay.
◊ 2 November 1986
Quando o povo ulula. Tempo [Maputo] no.838 (2 November 1986), p.34-39. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 4.5 Mb.
◊ 2 November 1986
Samora descansa ao lado de Eduardo Mondlane! Tempo [Maputo] no.838 (2 November 1986), p.16-19. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 2.2 Mb.
◊ 2 November 1986
Alberto Chipande. A tua voz de comando é a voz da pátria: mensagem das Forças de Defesa e Segurança lida por Alberto Chipande. Tempo [Maputo] no.838 (2 November 1986), p.32-33. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 364 kb.
◊ 2 November 1986
Marcelino dos Santos. Tua vida é história: elógio fúnebre lido por Marcelino dos Santos. Tempo [Maputo] no.838 (2 November 1986), p.20-30. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 4.2 Mb. The full text of the funeral elegy.
◊ 2 November 1986
Zacarias Kupela. Viverás sempre nos corações dos que amam a liberdade: mensagem das organizações democráticas de massas e sócio-profissionais, lida por Zacarias Kupela. Tempo [Maputo] no.838 (2 November 1986), p.31-32. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 326 kb.
◊ 8 November 1986
$30,000 donated to Machel funeral. Herald [Harare] (8 November 1986). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 40 kb.
◊ December 1986
Jennifer Davis. The funeral: a people cannot bid farewell to its own history. Southern Africa Report [Toronto] (December 1986), p.10-12, 25. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 358 kb.