WATCH: Graça Machel stands by Samito – AIM report

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WATCH: Graça Machel stands by Samito – AIM report

8:44 CAT | 17 Aug 2018

File photo

Graca Machel, the widow of Mozambique’s first President, Samora Machel, on Thursday publicly backed the bid by Samora’s son, Samora Machel Junior (“Samito”), to become mayor of Maputo.

Biologically, Samito is not Graca’s son – he is the son of President Samora’s first wife, Josina, who died in 1971. But Graca Machel has always taken responsibility for all of Samora’s children, treating them as if they were her own. Since the President’s death in a plane crash in 1986, Graca has been the head of the Machel family.

She is a highly respected political figure in her own right, a champion for women and children, and, like Samito, a member of the Central Committee of the ruling Frelimo Party.

Speaking to journalists on Thursday, Graca Machel said that, before being a Central Committee member, and before even being a citizen, she is a mother.

“I am here (at a national conference on girls in Boane district, just outside Maputo) as a citizen and as a Frelimo member, but above all else I am a mother”, she stressed. “People must remember that Josina is not here, Samora is not here. I am the only person who can be at Samito’s side to advise or not advise”.

She recalled that she has taken responsibility for Samito since he was four years old, and it was she who enrolled him in primary school. She declared that she will always be at Samito’s side.

Graca made it clear that Samito takes his own decisions. “Samito is 48 years old, he’ll be 49 in November”, she said. “He’s an adult. He knows what he’s doing”.

“Samito didn’t just wake up one morning and do what he’s doing now”, she added. “I have learnt that he has been working on this (a mayoral campaign), preparing this for the past two years. I wasn’t aware of this”.

For any further comment Graca advised the reporters to speak to Samito himself. “Talk to Samito”, she said. “He’s an adult. He takes responsibility for his actions”.

Initially, Samito had hoped to become the Frelimo candidate for mayor of Maputo in the municipal elections scheduled for 10 October. But his name was excluded from the short list of three drawn up by the Frelimo City Committee. Those three names were former Finance Minister Eneas Comiche, former Tourism Minister Fernando Sumbana, and Razaque Manhique, Deputy Chairperson of the Maputo Municipal Assembly.

The party leadership eventually selected Comiche as the candidate, despite his age (he is 79). He has great experience, and was mayor of Maputo once before (from 2004 to 2009). But the whole process for choosing candidates has been criticised for its lack of transparency.

A coalition of civil society organisations known as “Ajudem” (Youth Association for the Development of Mozambique) approached Samito last week, asking him to be head of its list of candidates for the Municipal Assembly (and thus the mayoral candidate, since the head of whichever list wins most votes automatically becomes mayor). He formally accepted on Tuesday.

Samito’s decision is a clear violation of the Frelimo statutes, which forbid Frelimo members from standing in elections for any other party or movement without express authorisation. Theoretically, Samito could be expelled from the party.

But that seems most unlikely. The Frelimo General Secretary, Roque Silva, far from denouncing Samito, wished him well.

Speaking during a visit he made on Thursday to the Association of Mozambican Musicians, Silva, cited in Friday’s issue of the independent newssheet “Mediafax”, said “when a child grows up, there comes a time when he feels himself a man and wants to leave his parents’ house and build his own house. We just say, good luck and may God be with you”.

Silva denied that Samito’s decision to run as an independent was a serious blow to Frelimo. “Nothing will shake Frelimo”, he insisted.

“This is the Frelimo that was developed by Samora Machel, and so we shall continue to follow the principles of Samora Machel who always inspired us”, Silva added.

Central Committee member Teodoro Waty told “Mediafax” he regarded Samito’s decision as “courageous”. He had no doubt that Samito “must have consulted the spirits of his father and mother to know what would be the best solution. He may not have interpreted their message well, I don’t know, but he may also have interpreted it possible”.

Waty called on the party to show tolerance towards Samito. He admitted that this case could open “cracks” inside Frelimo, but was confident these will not develop into deep craters.