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MBUZINI
The Death of Samora Machel
19 October 1986
Dossier MZ-0017
Resolving Unanswered Questions:
Attempts to Re-Open Investigations
into the Mbuzini Disaster
Four commissions and boards of inquiry and a session of South Africa’s Truth and Reconcilation Commission [TRC] (see below) have all failed to bring definitive closure to the question of what really happened when the Tupolev TU-134 crashed at Mbuzini. The history of analogous events – such as the death of Dag Hammarskjold, the murder of Patrice Lumumba, the assassinations of Chitepo and Mondlane – show that final answers become harder and harder to find as time passes, and it is likely that doubts about the truth will always remain, coloured by contemporary understanding of the historical context. In the case of Mbuzini at least, this has not meant giving up, and investigations of various kinds have continued, as new revelations have been made.
This page presents reports, references and resources on various investigations after the work of the official commissions and boards of inquiry had been completed or had ground to a halt. These include the 1998 session of the TRC; the sensational Louw and Groenewald «confessions» of 2003; the re-opening of inquiries by the elite South African police unit, the Hawks, in 2011-2012, about which little has so far been reported; and accounts in memoirs by or about such figures as Jacinto Veloso or Pik Botha.
Above: Books by former Mozambican ministers of security Jacinto Veloso and Sérgio Vieira (who held the post at the time of the disaster) offer accounts of what happened at Mbuzini. Veloso goes as far as suggesting Soviet involvement in a plot to eliminate Samora Machel (English edition, p.160-162).
Early Doubts and Questions, 1987-1996
In the years immediately following the Mbuzini disaster, the Mozambican government’s official line was that investigations should continue, especially since the navigator’s remark, recorded in the black box, about following a VOR signal remained unresolved. With the advent of non-racial democracy in South Africa in 1994, this became a position of the ANC government as well. Over the years a monument was built, visits were paid to Mbuzini and ceremonies were held on the anniversaries of the disaster, but for a decade or so, no structured investigation was mounted.
MHN Resources
◊ October 1987
António Makwala. Samora Machel: the first anniversary. Mozambique News Agency Features [Maputo] (October 1987), p.1-3. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 134 kb.
◊ 24 March 1988
Former MNR official throws new light on Machel’s death. Chronicle [Bulawayo] (24 March 1988). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 37 kb. Paulo Oliveira, a former MNR spokesperson, says that Evo Fernandes telephoned him early on the morning of 20 October 1986 with the news of the disaster; he was subsequently telephoned by somebody from Phalaborwa and told to be ready to claim responsibility.
◊ 6 April 1988
Chissano wants crash inquiry to continue. Herald [Harare] (6 April 1988). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 46 kb. Remarks by the Mozambican president during a visit to Cuba.
◊ 9 October 1991
Memorial service for Machel. Business Day [Johannesburg] (9 October 1991). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 104 kb. Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela are to join Graça Machel at Mbuzini to pay homage to the memory of the late Mozambican president.
◊ 12 October 1991
Mandela visits Machel site. Cape Times [Cape Town] (12 October 1991). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 20 kb. Both Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo are reported to have visited Mbuzini.
◊ 12 October 1991
Johan van Wyk. Machel se vrou wys nog vinger na SA magte: Samora se drie dogters snik in stoppelland. Beeld [Johannesburg] (12 October 1991). In Afrikaans. Click here to download a PDF file, size 150 kb. Machel’s wife points a finger at SA special forces.
◊ 30 April 1992
Who killed Machel? New Nation [Johannesburg] (30 April 1992). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 99 kb.
◊ 7 June 1992
Undeclared war set scene for crash. Weekend Argus [Cape Town] (7 June 1992). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 223 kb. The article reports that an edition of Samora: Why He Died has been re-published in Stockholm by AIM.
◊ 7 June 1992
Dale Kneen. A new look at Machel death. Weekend Argus [Cape Town] (7 June 1992). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 83 kb.
◊ 4 September 1992-10 September 1992
Machel’s death: Russia wants a new probe. New Nation [Johannesburg] (4 September 1992-10 September 1992). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 91 kb. Boris El’tsin is under pressure to set up a new probe into the cause of the disaster.
◊ 13 September 1993
ANC pretende reabrir inquérito ao acidente aéreo que vitimou Machel: governo sul-africano rejeita alegações de Mandela. Século de Joanesburgo [Johannesburg] (13 September 1993). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 132 kb.
◊ 21 October 1993
Pik lays wreath at Machel grave. Cape Times [Cape Town] (21 October 1993), p.5. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 68 kb.
◊ 3 July 1996
Na África do Sul, nada consta sobre morte de Samora. Demos [Maputo] (3 July 1996), p.1. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 532 kb.
◊ September 1996
Ten years without Samora. Mozambiquefile [Maputo] (September 1996), p.3. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 81 kb.
◊ 25 October 1996-31 October 1996
David Beresford. The mystery remains. Weekly Mail [Johannesburg] (25 October 1996-31 October 1996), p.13. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 115 kb.
◊ 25 October 1996-31 October 1996
David Beresford. SA stole documents. Weekly Mail [Johannesburg] (25 October 1996-31 October 1996), p.12. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 240 kb. Raises again the question of Neil van Heerden’s evidence regarding the collection and redistribution of diplomatic documents at the crash site - what Beresford calls a possible ‘conspiracy to mislead’.
◊ 25 October 1996-31 October 1996
David Shapshak. Re-open Machel death inquiry, says Pik. Weekly Mail [Johannesburg] (25 October 1996-31 October 1996), p.12-13. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 428 kb. Nelson Mandela has pledged to find the truth about Mbuzini, and Pik Botha also thinks this would be a good idea.
1998: The TRC Asks Some Awkward Questions
After commissioning Klaas de Jonge to submit a report, in June 1998 the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of South Africa held an in camera session devoted to the disaster, with testimony from Graça Machel among others. The TRC hearing uncovered evidence of muddle – the current location of the wreckage of the Tupolev was unclear, for example – and concluded that:
The investigations conducted by the [TRC] raised a number of questions, including the possibility of a false beacon and the absence of a warning from the South African authorities. The matter requires further investigation by an appropriate structure [TRC Report, volume 2, chapter 6, paragraph 48].
MHN Resources
◊ August 1996
Klaas de Jonge. The case «Samora Machel». The Truth Commission Files [Amsterdam] (August 1996). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 580 kb.
◊ 28 October 1996
Phyllis Johnson. The truth about Mbuzini: who knows and who will tell? Southern African News Features [Harare] (28 October 1996), p.1-2. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 201 kb.
◊ 2 February 1998
Mzilikazi wa Afrika. Did Frelimo generals betray Machel? Mail and Guardian Online [Johannesburg] (2 February 1998). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 165 kb.
◊ 17 May 1998
Jimmy Seepe. McBride-Machel cover-up: crash breakthrough reason McBride being in jail? City Press [Johannesburg] (17 May 1998), p.1-2. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 120 kb. Alleges that investigators working for the Gauteng attorney-general’s office have circumstantial evidence of Mozambican involvement in an Mbuzini plot. McBride’s imprisonment in Maputo is linked to this, according to the article.
◊ 19 May 1998
John Yeld. New evidence links SADF to Machel air crash: TRC will probe disaster, and Helderberg crash off Mauritius in 1987. Argus [Cape Town] (19 May 1998). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 74 kb. The TRC is to hold a closed session to examine new evidence linking the SADF to the Mbuzini disaster.
◊ 20 May 1998
Has the TRC found a smoking gun? Pretoria News [Pretoria] (20 May 1998). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 66 kb. Questions whether the claims that have been made about the causes of the Mbuzini disaster actually constitute ‘evidence’.
◊ 22 May 1998
Jovial Rantao. Come clean on Machel, NP told. Cape Times [Cape Town] (22 May 1998). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 61 kb. Willie Hofmeyr tabled a parliamentary motion expressing shock that the NP was involved in a conspiracy to murder Machel; the NP in turn condemned the move as a cheap political manoeuvre.
◊ 22 May 1998
Brian Stuart. NP part of plot to kill Machel: ANC. Citizen [Johannesburg] (22 May 1998). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 55 kb.
◊ 27 May 1998
Air-traffic controller in Machel case suspended from duties. Star [Johannesburg] (27 May 1998). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 331 kb. Reports claims in the weekly Savana that António Cardoso de Jesus, an air traffic controller who was on duty on 19 October 1986, has been suspended with effect from 5 May 1998.
◊ 5 June 1998
TRC hears evidence of Machel plane crash. Citizen [Johannesburg] (5 June 1998). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 54 kb. An unidentified ‘former Mozambican official’ who was not a member of the Council of Ministers testified to the TRC hearing on Mbuzini.
◊ 6 June 1998
Ed O’Laughlin. Botha e Machel: a busca da verdade. Expresso [Lisbon] (6 June 1998). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 258 kb. P. W. Botha, then aged 82, finally appeared before the TRC.
◊ 17 June 1998
Machel plane parts were given away. Citizen [Johannesburg] (17 June 1998). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 43 kb. On the question of the fate of the wreckage of the aircraft. Also reports that António Cardoso de Jesus had been suspended after being accused of receiving R1,5 million for tampering with the Mavalane VOR.
◊ 17 June 1998
New claims about the wreckage of Samora Machel’s plane. SAPA [Johannesburg] (17 June 1998). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 125 kb. A scrap merchant in White River, Mpumalanga, says that he bought the wreckage of the Tupolev in 1987 and recycled it for scrap.
Above: the tail of the presidential Tupolev TU-124, bearing the national crest or escudo of the People’s Republic of Mozambique, reduced to hanging on the wall as a cheap souvenir in a bar in Ngwenya Lodge in Mpumalanga in 1998.
◊ 18 June 1998
Machel plane mystery deepens: scrap dealer claims pieces held by police are not from late president’s crashed jet. Star [Johannesburg] (18 June 1998). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 65 kb.
◊ 19 June 1998
Another cover-up? Star [Johannesburg] (19 June 1998). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 46 kb. Is the fact that the wreckage seems to be missing a sign that something sinister is being covered up?
◊ 19 June 1998-25 June 1998
Robert Kirby. Don’t be led astray by the decoy beacon theory. Mail and Guardian [Johannesburg] (19 June 1998-25 June 1998), p.18-19. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 1 Mb. Kirby argues that between 80 and 90 percent of aviation accidents come down to human error, and dismisses the theory that a decoy beacon was used; he writes from the perspective of an insider in ‘the business of professional aviation’.
◊ 21 June 1998
Machel crash must be probed. City Press [Johannesburg] (21 June 1998). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 57 kb.
◊ 23 June 1998
Pamela Dube. Graça Machel before TRC. Sowetan [Johannesburg] (23 June 1998). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 62 kb.
Above: Part of episode 24 of the SABC coverage of the sessions of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC, presented by the South African journalist Max du Preez, and dealing with the Mbuzini disaster
◊ 23 June 1998
Adri Kotzé. Graça Machel getuig voor WVK oor vliegongeluk. Beeld [Johannesburg] (23 June 1998). In Afrikaans. Click here to download a PDF file, size 61 kb.
◊ 28 June 1998
Mzilikazi wa Afrika and Chris Barron. Defiant pub owner scorns truth body: Machel plane crash relic disappears after sneak sale. Sunday Times [Johannesburg] (28 June 1998). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 97 kb. Dave Fourie says that he has sold the four square metre section of the tailfin that was on display at Ngwenya Lodge near Komatipoort, after the TRC had announced that all such wreckage should be handed over to the authorities.
◊ 10 July 1998-16 July 1998
Debora Patta. How Samora Machel signed his own death warrant. Mail and Guardian [Johannesburg] (10 July 1998-16 July 1998), p.18-19. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 715 kb. Patta responds to the article by Kirby (see above), criticising him for decontextualizing the disaster in political terms, and for writing as if South Africa in 1986 was ‘a perfectly normal society, with a judiciaÌ system above reproach and a defence force that would never stoop to dirty tricks’.
◊ 13 July 1998
Machel crash. Natal Witness [Pietermaritzburg] (13 July 1998). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 48 kb.
◊ 1998
Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Special investigation into the death of President Samora Machel. In: Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa report [Cape Town: Juta] vol.2 (1998), p.494-502. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 128 kb. Reformatted by MHN. Concludes that ‘the investigations conducted by the Commission raised a number of questions, including the possibility of a false beacon and the absence of a warning from the South African authorities. The matter requires further investigation by an appropriate structure’.
◊ 29 June 1999
Morte anunciada é tema de livro sobre Samora Machel: a obra do jornalista António Ramos foi lançada há dias na RAS. Notícias [Maputo] (29 June 1999). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 118 kb.
◊ 16 October 2001
Evgenii Zhirnov. Ekipazha na bordu ne byla. Kommersant Vlast' [online] [no.41 (443) (16 October 2001). In Russian. Click here to view the article. This not entirely serious article relies heavily on the memoirs of Leonid Seliakov, and claims that the Soviet crew were arguing over some cases of Coca Cola.
◊ 2 May 2002
Paul Fauvet. Apartheid regime killed Machel, Mbeki hints. Star [Johannesburg] (2 May 2002). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 44 kb. Published online.
◊ 3 May 2002
Paul Fauvet. Mbeki raises apartheid plot spectre over Machel death: our common enemy blamed. Cape Argus [Cape Town] (3 May 2002). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 106 kb.
2003: The Louw and Groenewald Confessions
In early 2003, South African newspapers featured some sensational reporting about a confession by a former security operative, Hans Louw, a Namibian national serving a long prison sentence for murder. Louw’s allegations revived interest in the case, especially when former General Tienie Groenewald added fuel to the flames by claiming that President Joaquim Chissano had been aware of the plot to kill Machel. In the end, however, Groenewald withdrew his claims, and in 2008 Louw was released from prison and as far as MHN is aware dropped from sight.
MHN Resources
◊ 12 January 2003
Mpikeleni Duma. How the hit went down: my job was to make sure Machel died. Sowetan Sunday World [Johannesburg] (12 January 2003), p.2. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 54 kb. Confession of Hans Louw, a former operative of the apartheid-era CCB, claiming that the aircraft was in fact lured off-course with a false beacon.
◊ 13 January 2003
CCB killer confesses to Machel death plot. Cape Times [Cape Town] (13 January 2003), p.5. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 194 kb. Reformatted by MHN.
◊ 17 January 2003
Morte de Samora Machel: ex-agente secreto confessa envolvimento no plano. Savana [Maputo] (17 January 2003), p.5. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 39 kb.
◊ 21 January 2003
Jorge Dick. Morte de Samora Machel: Pik Botha vai ser ouvido pela polícia. Notícias [Maputo] (21 January 2003). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 72 kb. Pik Botha is to be interviewed by the police in connection with Samora’s death.
◊ 28 January 2003
Jorge Dick. Do regime do apartheid, conselho de estado aprovou eliminação de Samora Machel. Notícias [Maputo] (28 January 2003). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 109 kb. Former CCB agent Hans Louw says that the South African State Security Council approved the plan to eliminate Machel, at a meeting in Spitskop, outside Pretoria, on 17 October 1986.
◊ 31 January 2003
António Ramos. Morte de Samora Machel: um mistério que se adensa. Savana [Maputo] (31 January 2003). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 70 kb.
◊ 2 February 2003
Sérgio Vieira. Sobre a morte de um herói. Domingo [Maputo] (2 February 2003). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 84 kb. Identifies three odd circumstances around the death of Samora, which happened at a time when he was security minister. First, Pik Botha initially told him that the plane had crashed in Natal; secornd, General Coetzee mentioned looking ‘for some beacon over there’; and last, both the Americans and the British told him that they wouldn’t participate in an inquiry, which he interprets as meaning that they had guilty knowledge of some sort.
◊ 25 February 2003
Acidente aéreo que vitimou Samora: Pik Botha nega ter chegado pouco depois do sinistro. Notícias [Maputo] (25 February 2003). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 127 kb.
◊ 4 March 2003
Jorge Dick. Sobre morte de Samora: ex-prisioneiro afirma ter entregue documentos. Notícias [Maputo] (4 March 2003). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 84 kb. Makhosani Makhuvele, a former MK member, says that he gave ‘sensitive’ documents on Mbuzini, which he obtained from Renamo, to the Nelson Mandela Foundation in April 2000.
◊ 12 March 2003
Jorge Dick. Morte de Samora Machel: apartheid quis convencer Renamo a reivindicar responsibilidade. Notícias [Maputo] (12 March 2003). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 49 kb.
◊ April 2003
Pusch Commey. Who killed Samora Machel. New African [London] (April 2003), p.16-20. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 1.9 Mb. When the plane of Mozambique’s revolutionary leader, Samora Machel, crashed on the night of 19 October 1986 killing him and 34 others, Apartheid South Africa immediately blamed it on ‘pilot error’. ‘The Russian crew were high on Vodka,’ crowed Pik Botha, the then foreign minister. Now a new investigation into the crash is proving too hot for South Africa’s hitherto ‘untouchables’.
◊ 6 April 2003
Mpikeleni Duma. New twist to Machel mystery: former SADF general points at Chissano. Sowetan Sunday World [Johannesburg] (6 April 2003). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 285 kb. Former SADF General Tienie Groenewald claims that Joaquim Chissano was involved in the plot to kill Samora Machel. Adv. Dumisa Ntsebenza says that this seems ‘credible’, since there was supposedly no Mozambican investigation [however, this is mistaken since a Comissão de Inquérito was in fact set up].
◊ 7 April 2003
Apartheid general’s claims dismissed as false. AIM [Maputo] (7 April 2003). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 122 kb. First published on the Web; reformatted by MHN. Dismisses the claims by General Groenewald.
◊ 7 April 2003
Erika Gibson. Machel murder plot denied. News 24.com [Johannesburg] (7 April 2003). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 31 kb. First published on the Web.
◊ 7 April 2003
Waghied Misbach. Botha wants probe to prove his innocence. Sowetan [Johannesburg] (7 April 2003). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 112 kb.
Above: Members of the South African police removing the body of one of the victims from the crash site, 20 October 1986. Suspicions that the disaster was not an accident have persisted to the present day.
◊ 10 April 2003
É absurdo, diz chefe de estado. Notícias [Maputo] (10 April 2003). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 35 kb.
◊ 10 April 2003
É evidente confissão do crime, segundo Edson Macuácua, da Frelimo. Notícias [Maputo] (10 April 2003). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 698 kb.
◊ 10 April 2003
Na morte de Samora Machel: ex-general sul-africano nega ter acusado chefe do estado. Notícias [Maputo] (10 April 2003). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 234 kb. Withdrawing the statements published in the Sowetan Sunday World, Gen. Groenewald now says that he never stated that Joaquim Chissano was implicated in a plot to assassinate Samora Machel, nor that Pik Botha knew about it.
◊ 11 April 2003
Chissano rejects Machel death claims. Dispatch Online [East London] (11 April 2003). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 42 kb. First published online.
◊ 24 April 2003
Teodato Hunguana. General Groenewald pertence ao grupo que assassinou Samora. Notícias [Maputo] (24 April 2003). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 280 kb. Full text of a speech in the Assembleia da República, Mozambique’s parliament. Hunguana maintains that Mbuzini was conceived, prepared and carried out by the apartheid regime.
◊ 2 May 2003
Chissano slams Machel rumours. News 24.com [Johannesburg] (2 May 2003). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 43 kb.
◊ 2 May 2003
Moz president denies role in Machel’s death. IOL.co.za [Johannesburg] (2 May 2003). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 57 kb.
◊ 5 May 2003
Mozambique pres denies he had role in Machel’s death. ANC Daily News Briefing [Johannesburg] (5 May 2003). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 280 kb. Reprints a SAPA dispatch dated 2 May 2003.
◊ 8 May 2003
South Africans admit they killed Samora but say Mozambicans helped. SADOCC [[place unknown]] (8 May 2003). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 84 kb.
◊ 11 May 2003
Debora Patta warned to watch her back: 3rd Degree anchor received death threats. City Press [Johannesburg] (11 May 2003). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 59 kb.
◊ 29 May 2003
Why did General Groenewald retract? AIM [Maputo] (29 May 2003). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 148 kb.
◊ 3 June 2003
Disparition de Samora Machel: le président Chissano n’est pas lié à cette affaire. Afrique Express [place unknown] no.271 (3 June 2003). In French. Click here to download a PDF file, size 70 kb.
◊ 19 July 2003
Christelle Terblanche. Samora crash probe finds no foul play. Saturday Star [Johannesburg] (19 July 2003). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 90 kb. Adv. Anton Ackerman says that the National Prosecuting Authority has decided to cease ‘active investigation’ of Mbuzini, since it had not been possible to identify any participants in a plot to kill the Mozambican president. The files will not, however, be closed.
◊ 17 October 2003
Themba Molefe. Samora Machel’s memory lives on. Sowetan [Johannesburg] (17 October 2003). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 99 kb.
◊ 23 October 2003
Milton Machel. Posição do governo nas investigações à tragédia de Mbuzini: Samora Jr. discorda de Chissano. Savana [Maputo] no.511 (23 October 2003), p.5. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 142 kb. This report is by the journalist Milton Machel, a grandson of one of Samora’s cousins. It reports that Machel’s son, Samora Moisés Machel Júnior, «Samito», believes that unidentified Mozambicans were indeed involved in a plot to kill his father. He is quoted as saying ‘Não sei se estavam no Governo, no Estado ou eram militares, mas acredito’.
◊ 29 August 2008
Mpikeleni Duma. Machel killer released from Pretoria prison. Sowetan [Johannesburg] (29 August 2008). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 47 kb.
2006: The Mbeki Initiative
In his state of the nation address for 2006, then President Thabo Mbeki called for the re-opening of the investigation into the causes of the accident. Graça Machel reacted emotionally: «I am so moved, I can hardly speak,» she said afterwards. However, little came of the initiative.
MHN Resources
◊ 5 February 2006
Christelle Terblanche. Emotional reaction to Machel proposal. Sunday Independent [Johannesburg] (5 February 2006), p.4. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 727 kb. President Thabo Mbeki proposes reactivation the investigation in his state of the nation address.
◊ 12 February 2006
Christelle Terblanche. Machel probe takes up where TRC left off. Sunday Independent [Johannesburg] (12 February 2006). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 178 kb.
◊ 14 February 2006
The Machel mystery. Business Day [Johannesburg] (14 February 2006). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 140 kb.
◊ 22 August 2008
Graça Machel. Sérgio Vieira foi leviano e repugnante. O País [Maputo] (22 August 2008). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 2.3 Mb. Letter from Graça Machel responding to remarks made by Sérgio Vieira during a television interview, in which he criticised the late president for flying at night for, allegedly, family reasons.
◊ 8 October 2008
Need to end Machel death riddle. Sowetan [Johannesburg] (8 October 2008). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 258 kb. Mentions Richmond Mundingi as one of two security operatives who claim to have been involved in an Mbuzini plot.
2011-2012: The Hawks Reopen the Case
In late 2011, President Jacob Zuma also promised to get to the bottom of the mystery, and in December 2012 it was reported that the elite police unit, the Hawks, was busy with a top priority investigation.
MHN Resources
◊ October 2011
Samora Machel remembered. Southern Africa Today [Harare] vol.13 no.6 (October 2011), p.16. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 1.1 Mb.
◊ 15 November 2011
Paul Fauvet. Zuma pledges full investigation into 1986 Machel death. Cape Times [Cape Town] (15 November 2011). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 57 kb.
◊ 12 December 2012
Katherine Child. TRC called for further investigation. Times [Johannesburg] (12 December 2012). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 261 kb.
◊ 12 December 2012
Graeme Hosken. Top secret inquiry into Machel crash. Times [Johannesburg] (12 December 2012). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 547 kb.
◊ 27 March 2013
João Cabrita. O acidente de Mbuzini e a política externa da União Soviética. Canal de Moçambique [Maputo] (27 March 2013), p.16-17. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 992 kb.
Above: Other books also contain information and speculation about Mbuzini and the circumstances in which it occurred. Left to right, a massive biography of Pik Botha by Papenfus, and a memoir by former MNR spokesman Paulo Oliveira.
Reports on Related Issues
It was suggested around the time of the disaster that the South Africans had sabotaged flights in Angola by using false navigation beacons. There was also at least one case in which a pilot was blamed for a mishap with a Soviet aircraft, when the problem was in fact a design fault. Research in the United States indicated that the increasingly automation of cockpits could lead to pilot complacency.
MHN Resources and Links
◊ 25 October 1986
Aviões em Angola foram desviados da rota - ministro Kito Rodrigues. Notícias [Maputo] (25 October 1986). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 229 kb. The Angolan Minister of the Interior, Kito Rodrigues, confirms that there have been instances of Angolan military aircraft being diverted by South African interference with their navigational systems. The story includes a sketch map of the TU-134’s route, and a box.
◊ 5 August 1987
Crash pilot wrongly convicted: fault in Soviet plane hushed up. Times [London] (5 August 1987). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 122 kb. The article quotes a recent report in Sovetskaia Kultura about a potentially lethal design fault in the Soviet-manufactured Antonov AN-24, which was hushed up for several years after 1978.
◊ 26 August 1989
Helen Gavaghan. Computers in cockpits breed pilot complacency. New Scientist [London] (26 August 1989), p.33. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 152 kb. A report compiled for NASA suggests that automation in modern aeroplanes may make pilots complacent. The original report, by Earl Wiener, entitled Human Factors of Advanced Technology («Glass Cockpit») Transport Aircraft (June 1989), 221 pages, may be downloaded here, size 13 Mb.
◊ 13 December 1992
Mark Stansfield. Navigation aid is faulty: lives of those who fly at risk. Weekend Argus [Cape Town] (13 December 1992), p.8. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 118 kb. Article about defective VOR’s in use in South Africa.