Daviz Simango: Hundreds queue to sign condolences book – Listen

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Daviz Simango: Hundreds queue to sign condolences book – Listen

11:46 CAT | 26 Feb 2021

Photo: MDM Moçambique para Todos on Facebook

Hundreds of people have queued all over the city, especially in the town square in the centre of Beira, to leave a message and sign a book of condolences in his memory.

In 2009, Daviz Simango founded the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM), Mozambique’s third-largest political party, after breaking away from Renamo and winning his second term as mayor as an independent.

The MDM has made condolence books available in Beira, the party’s stronghold, and in several other Mozambican cities for “messages of comfort and solidarity”.

In the municipal square adjacent to the mayor’s office in Beira, where the biggest turnout for the signing was to be seen, residents described Daviz Simango as the “rescuer” of Beira’s “dignity”, and the “defender of Mozambique’s unarmed democracy”.

“The city was extraordinarily disorganised when Daviz Simango took over and, in a few years, he managed to eradicate open-air faecalism and cholera, and introduced a city culture and a composure that we have to this day. He rescued our dignity,” said Raimundo Mulope, after signing the book of condolences of his “hero”.

Mulope, like other residents, fears a relapse in municipal management and a retreat from the progress achieved so far, and calls on the next cohort of managers to be decisive in fulfilling the municipal plan and ideals of Daviz Simango.

“The next mayor should be strong, to retain the mark of Daviz Simango. We know that he or she will never measure up to his charisma, but [whoever it is] should prioritise continuity in his work, with the same visibility and transparency in the management of public affairs,” Munhava resident Simão Massinga said.

For many interviewees, the death of Daviz Simango shakes Mozambican democracy to its foundations, since the mayor “fought for genuine democracy” and not for “obedience to arms”.

“Daviz was a pillar of strength, and we expect his team to pick up the five-year programme so that Beira remains the Beira we want. We are at a level where almost nobody is complaining, and we would like to continue enjoying the same standard of management,” Manuel Jofrisse said.

Statue for Daviz Simango

Beira residents argue that the city should now set about immortalising the work of Daviz Simango, including the erection of a statue in his memory, and robust actions to ensure that the city does not regress in any way.

“There should be a statue in Daviz Simango’s honour in Beira, and whoever is to continue his work should follow in his footsteps, and not let the political problems that he knew how to manage affect the city and province,” Simão Massinga argued.

Another resident, Alfredo Mateus, observed that “if we let the city lag behind, it means that we will not be immortalising the work of Daviz Simango, and that we are not shields in the defence of our own dignity”.

Daviz Simango’s body arrived home in Beira on Thursday night. The city poured into the streets and the drums roared in a highly emotional atmosphere as the urn touched down. His brother Lutero Simango and his eldest son, Urias, travelled with the body from South Africa.

The funeral will take place at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, Feb 27th, at the Santa Isabel cemetery in Beira city.

Source: Voa Portugues