SAMORA MACHEL: IS THE TRUTH LOST FOREVER?
Quest for justice riddled with missed opportunities, misinformation, denialism
THIRTY-FIVE years on, it is quite possible that the world will never know the truth about the death of Mozambican revolutionary and former president Samora Machel.
He was killed in 1986 when his Soviet-built-and-piloted Tupolev Tu-134 aircraft went down in the Lebombo mountains in Mbuzini, close to South Africa’s border with Mozambique.
It is widely theorised that the apartheid apparatus was responsible for Machel’s death, having allegedly lured the aircraft off course with a decoy homing beacon.
At the time, Machel-led Mozambique was part of a collection of frontline states that provided refuge for South African freedom fighters.
In the aftermath of Machel’s death, apartheid South Africa denied any involvement, setting up the Margo Commission which attributed the cause of the crash to pilot error – these findings were wholly rejected by the Soviet Union and Mozambique.
The Margo Commission represented the first of many flawed and shallow attempts at investigating the Machel crash.
One of these attempts came via the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in 1998 which found “no conclusive evidence to support either of the conclusions”.
“Circumstantial evidence collected did, however, question the conclusions reached by the Margo commission.”
According to political analyst Professor Bheki Mngomezulu most of the moves by successive South African administrations were ineffective and missed opportunities.
“Most of these attempts have been South African governments shooting in the dark. We will never know what really happened because the perpetrators planned and executed Machel’s death well,” said Mngomezulu.
He said he believed strongly in the involvement of the apartheid state in concealing the truth surrounding the incident.
“It was not an accident, it was the apartheid state.
“Usually when there is a change of administration, information is passed on. This was not the case in 1994 – the democratic regime was given no information about the Machel incident,” he said.
Mngomezulu said an additional point of contention was the role of the TRC in assisting to bring about justice surrounding the matter.
“The TRC did not assist in a manner that we had expected at the time. It was a missed opportunity by the TRC.
“Our laws should have been tightened to compel persons involved to testify but we didn’t.
“As a result, critical information could be lost forever,” he said.
Commentator Professor Lesiba Teefu was equally critical of the measures taken to seek justice for Machel and said there was a level of opportunism and political expediency that needed to be addressed.
“Where did the TRC take us?” he asked.
“South African administrations since 1994 have failed to provide justice to victims of the apartheid regime.
“We thought there would be justice for Ahmed Timol but Rodrigues died before we knew the truth,” said Teefu, citing worrying instances of the truth dying with the perpetrators of apartheid era crimes.
“It’s been 35 years and we are no closer to justice.
“But what justice do they seek. “We must be wary of political opportunists taking advantage of a situation like this.
“When they needed to investigate and seek justice, they did not do it.
“Machel was a hero, but his name must not be used for political gain or to score political points when leaders are in trouble and need an image boost,” he said.
Teefu believes South Africa should look at more meaningful gestures to memorialise Machel.
“The best way to memorialise Machel would be to perhaps build universities and institutions in his name – that would be the realistic form of justice that can be achieved.”
Political scientist Dr Imraan Buccus agreed that Machel’s contribution to liberation on the continent needed to be immortalised.
“Samora Machel is an iconic figure in liberation politics on the continent and as young students study Fannon and Sankara, so too should they be studying the writings of Machel.
“He was a cutting edge intellectual of his time whose legacy needs to be a part of the national conversation,” said Buccus.
At a commemorative event to mark Machel’s 35th death anniversary on Tuesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said South Africa would continue to remember the contributions made by the people of Mozambique in the fight for freedom.
“The commemoration of the death of President Machel and his comrades play a significant role in keeping alive the memory of those who selflessly laid down their lives for the liberation of the people of Southern Africa.
“As South Africans, we will never forget the contribution made by President Machel and the people of Mozambique in ensuring that freedom reigns in our country,” said Ramaphosa.
It is sadly ironic that some of the ways the iconic socialist statesman is remembered in South Africa is having a multimillion-rand memorial site and museum erected at the site of the crash that claimed his life and conversely an informal settlement riddled with crime and poverty named after him in Cape Town. Both failing to represent his ideals.
Is this perhaps our warped idea of justice?