Police victim becomes a hero to the people

Gildo Mowane is a hero after becoming the first victim of Mozambique's worst political violence in many years. The 22-year-old Mowane was shot in the head with a police AK47 rifle on Wednesday morning - barely an hour after violence broke out in the capital Maputo at around 9am. He had gone to the CBD to buy a sim card for his new cellphone.

On returning home by bus Mowane found his neighbourhood, the bustling slum area of Chamankulu on the outskirts of Maputo, engulfed in flames and chaos. Scores of angry protesters were breaking down the doors of a nearby bank while some looted a store for food. His younger brother, Nelson, remembers Mowane's last moments. "He came out of the bus and tried to tell the police he was coming back from shopping," said Nelson. "This policeman just took aim and shot him. He was the first person to be killed that day and the news drove people mad when they heard about it on the radio and television."

Nelson said the family was too poor to organise a decent funeral for Mowane. "We don't know what's going to happen," he said. "We asked the authorities at the hospital and they said the government won't pay for the funerals of people involved in protests. The family is hurt by this. Very, very hurt. "We will conduct a simple funeral because we are poor and have nothing." The family's neighbours have vowed to help with funeral costs.

Ten more people have since been killed in three days of violence sparked by rising food prices in Mozambique. Family and friends said the continuing strike against food prices would be dedicated to Mowane, who leaves behind two children.

Source: Times Live

Analysis: Hurdles in the way of Madagascar's new deal

It will take some time for Madagascar's feuding political rivals to implement their breakthrough agreement, but while hopes are high that the newly signed deal will pave the way to reconciliation and stability, there are still some serious hurdles. "I wish this were the end of the political conflict - but alas, there is lots of scope for continuing struggles," Stephen Ellis, professor of social sciences at the Free University of Amsterdam and senior researcher at the African Studies Centre in Leiden, the Netherlands, told IRIN.

The power-sharing deal signed in Maputo, capital of Mozambique, on 9 August brought Andry Rajoelina, former mayor of Madagascar's capital, Antananarivo, face to face with ousted President Marc Ravalomanana for the first time since political violence began in January 2009. The standoff culminated in what the international community condemned as a "coup-style" change of leadership on 17 March. After months of failed mediation attempts, the latest talks, facilitated by former Mozambican president Joaquim Chissano on behalf of the international community under the auspices of the African Union (AU), were widely hailed. "This was a clear sign that the leaders are now committed to seeing an end to the political crisis," said a statement on 11 August by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), a think-tank based in Pretoria, South Africa.

The Indian Ocean Island's main political factions pledged to work towards an interim government, put an end to months of political violence and hold fresh elections within 15 months. Former heads of state Didier Ratsiraka and Albert Zaphy were also signatories to the document The process of constitutional revision could be vital in determining the success of the agreement. "Elections will be important in Madagascar. However, they will be important because of the consensus-building they bring. This should not be confused with democratic consolidation, or with building strong institutions. Madagascar first needs to survive a new constitutional convention and referendum. One step at a time," Marcus said. "There will be more demonstrations during these 15 months. That in itself is ok. The important part is that key constituent groups remain committed to the process, and that the populace maintains its current level of patience."

The ISS was more optimistic: "It is likely that some disagreements will arise in the selection of members of the government, but if the recently ended talks are anything to go by, there is sufficient political will to ensure that eventually this transitional authority will be formed."

Source: IRINNEWS

MOZAMBICAN PRESIDENT DIES IN AIR CRASH IN SOUTH AFRICA

President Samora M. Machel, leader of Mozambique since it won independence from Portugal in 1975, was killed Sunday night in a plane crash in South Africa, the Pretoria Government announced today. The cause of the crash, on a flight from Lusaka, Zambia, to Maputo, Mozambique, was not known. The Mozambican authorities, who withheld a formal announcement while they debated the succession and other issues, confirmed Mr. Machel's death about 24 hours after the crash.

The 53-year-old President was an important figure among African leaders opposed to apartheid. His death coincided with increasing strains in Mozambique's relationship with South Africa after the virtual collapse of a 1984 nonaggression pact. Mr. Machel led a Marxist Government but was far from being an ideologue who followed a strict Marxist-Leninist line, and in recent years he seemed above all a pragmatic nationalist. The South African authorities said at least 26 people, including President Machel, had been killed in the crash. Ten people survived, one of them thought to be a Soviet pilot.

South Africa, which is backing Mozambican rebels seeking President Machel's overthrow, made no mention of possible sabotage or attack when it announced the Mozambican leader's death in a brief statement from the office of President P. W. Botha. But the South African Government, eager to avoid accusations that it played a role in the crash, said foreign aviation experts would be welcome to assist in any investigations. Foreign Minister Roelof F. Botha invited Mozambican representatives to inspect the crash site.

President Machel was returning from northern Zambia, where he had met the Presidents of Zambia, Angola and Zaire. Both the African National Congress, the most prominent of the organizations seeking the overthrow of apartheid, and the official Zambian press agency sought to implicate South Africa and the Mozambican rebels in Mr. Machel's death. Alfred Nzo, general secretary of the congress, said in Copenhagen that the crash was a ''deliberately committed crime'' by South Africa or its Mozambican allies.

The Mozambican leader's Soviet-made TU-134 twin-engine jet crashed in a hilly, remote area of Transvaal Province, near South Africa's borders with Swaziland and Mozambique. The crash site was a few miles from Komatipoort, the border town in which Mr. Machel signed the nonaggression accord with P. W. Botha, then Prime Minister, in 1984. South African newspapers asserted that the plane had strayed over South African territory in bad weather. Foreign Minister Botha said the aircraft crashed a few hundred yards inside South African territory after apparently running into difficulties in Mozambican airspace. The South African Bureau for Information said those killed included two leading Mozambican officials, Transport Minister Luis Maria Alcantara Santos and Deputy Foreign Minister Jose Carlos Lopo.

Mozambican rebels based in Lisbon said Defense Minister Alberto Joaquim Chipande had been killed in the crash, but there was no independent confirmation of the report. A Zairean diplomat was also reported killed. The first word of the crash came from Foreign Minister Botha, who announced on the South African state radio that an unidentified aircraft flying from Lusaka to Maputo had crashed in the border area. Shortly afterward, the state-run Mozambican radio broke into its programs to announce that Mr. Machel had not returned on schedule from Zambia and that an air crash in South Africa was under investigation. The radio began to play solemn music.

Marcelino dos Santos, a Politburo member and the Secretary of Parliament, urged Mozambicans to remain calm and ''keep vigilant in order to neutralize any enemy action to provoke instability and any criminal behavior.'' The appeal seemed to reflect official fears that the Mozambique National Resistance, a South African-backed rebel group that has claimed major successes in recent weeks, might try to press a perceived advantage. Foreign Minister Botha, touring the crash site, told reporters, ''Without Machel, one is concerned that conflict will escalate.''

President Machel's powerful personality made him the unchallenged leader of the Mozambique Liberation Front, or Frelimo, a Marxist group that is the country's only legal political movement. Mr. dos Santos, along with Foreign Minister Joaquim Alberto Chissano and Prime Minister Mario Machungo, are said by analysts in Maputo to be likely contenders for Mozambique's presidency. Mr. Machel signed a nonaggression pact with South Africa on March 16, 1984, in the hope that his withdrawal of support for the African National Congress would, under the terms of the treaty, end Pretoria's support for the Mozambique National Resistance. From the outset, the security accord has encountered problems. Mozambique has accused South Africa of continuing to support the rebels, while Pretoria has accused Mozambique of renewing its backing for guerrillas of the African National Congress.

Source: New York Times

Car bomb in South Africa kills 16

At least 16 people have been killed and more than 130 people injured in a car bomb explosion in South Africa's capital city, Pretoria.

The explosion happened outside the Nedbank Square building on Church Street at about 1630 hours - the height of the city's rush hour.

Oliver Tambo, who is the organisation's acting president while its senior figure, Nelson Mandela, is in prison, said the Nedbank Square building was a legitimate target, although he did not admit carrying out the attack.

PS: Four days later the South African Air Force bombed ANC bases in Maputo, Mozambique, in retaliation for the Pretoria car bomb. At least six people, including two children, were killed. Following the Maputo attack the ANC formally admitted carrying out the Pretoria bombing.

Source: BBC

Apartheid Opponent Killed in Mozambique

One of South Africa's most prominent opponents of apartheid, Ruth First, was killed today in Mozambique when a parcel bomb exploded in her office in Maputo.

The official Mozambique press agency quoted a security official as saying the attack resembled others that have taken place in Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Lesotho and Zambia, ''which were proved to be the work of the South African secret services.''

Miss First was a leading member of South Africa's banned African National Congress and was married to Joe Slovo, generally regarded as the group's leading ideologist. Miss First had lived in exile in Mozambique.

Source: New York Times