Mozambique's Samora Machel honoured 40 years after his death in a plane crash

A soldier lays a wreath at the site in South Africa where Mozambique's President Samora Machel died in a plane crash along with 34 others in 1986. 40 years after his death, there's still questions about what really caused the accident. This is a site that needs to be kept and be known because my father and the three others that died here died because of the liberation of South Africa. They were in Zambia, they had gone specifically to Zambia to discuss the issues of frontline states, but in particular the shaping and the preparation for South African independence. So they died for this nation. A crash investigation led by the then apartheid South African government ruled out any foul play. In 1975, Machel became the first president of an independent Mozambique. Samora Machel made Mozambique a country that, despite its youth as an independent state, had its own voice, a firm stance, a unique voice, and a respected presence in the community of nations. Machel's death sent shockwaves throughout the continent where he was an outspoken and revered anti-colonial voice. He supported liberation movements in the region, including South Africa, making him and his country vulnerable to attack.