‘Samora Machel is still alive’: Chapo calls for truth 40 years after Mbuzini tragedy

By Johnathan Paoli

Mozambican President Daniel Chapo has said Samora Machel remains alive through his ideals, calling for the truth about the former president’s death in a plane crash at Mbuzini to be established, 40 years after the tragedy.

Speaking at the 40th anniversary commemoration at the Samora Machel Monument and Museum in Mbuzini, Mpumalanga, on Monday, Chapo said the families of the 35 people who died in the crash deserved answers about the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.

The victims included Machel, the founding president of independent Mozambique.

“Forty years later, we still have questions remaining [about] the circumstances surrounding Mozambique’s tragedy. The investigations and clarifications that have taken place over decades have not dispelled all doubts. The families and the people of Mozambique and South Africa have the right to know with rigour and transparency the truth about the events on that night,” he said.

“Preserving the memory requires