Man who defied his destiny assassinated on the Day of Peace – @Verdade

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Man who defied his destiny assassinated on the Day of Peace – @Verdade

11:39 CAT | 06 Oct 2017

Mahamudo Amurane, the mayor of Nampula, was assassinated this Wednesday (04 September), Peace Day in Mozambique, in front of his private residence in the Namutequeliua neighbourhood, in the so-called northern capital of Mozambique, killed by three shots from the gun of an unknown individual.

From a poor family, Amurane rose above his destiny on several occasions. He could have settled for living in the shadow of his sister, minister in successive Frelimo governments, but chose instead to make his own way. Estranged from the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM), Amurane was preparing to stand in the 2018 municipal elections as an independent.

The mayor, who participated in the ceremonies celebrating the 25 years of the Peace Agreement in Heroes Square in the city of Nampula, afterwards dismissed his personal bodyguard and went home to the Namutequeliua neighbourhood in the area known as “Four Ways”, where he had a pharmacy.

Witnesses told the Republic of Mozambique Police (PRM) that three shots were fired from a pistol. “Two of the shots hit him in the chest area and one of the bullets passed through his side. He was declared dead when he arrived at hospital,” corporation spokesman Inacio Dina, told Mozambican television.

According to Nampula councillor of Markets and Fairs Saide Ali, who was with Amurane at the time of the attack, the gunman, a tall, dark individual, arrived in a light vehicle at approximately 6:00 p.m., approached the mayor who was talking to Ali outside his pharmacy, and shot him.

A few days ago, Amurane told @Verdade that during the last city council meeting, which took place last week, he had received a tip that a group of individuals was going to interrupt the session to protest a report the mayor had presented. Among this group, the mayor said, would be someone who would make an attempt on his life.

The police were notified and the session was held under heavy measures, with Amurane leaving the Municipal Assembly escorted by police officers.

A man who defied his destiny

Born on June 2, 1973, in the Monapo district, Mahamudo Amurane lost his father at an early age, with implications not only for his personal life but also for his studies. He was raised by his older siblings, his mother being financially insecure.

He completed his primary education in the EPC of Marocane, now the Agrarian Institute of Ribáuè, in the province of Nampula. He continued his studies at the Internship Centre of the Catholic Mission of Iapala, where he was accepted as a student by the institution authorities because he did not have means, his relatives living in the city of Nampula.

Practically helpless, he fought for life, earning enough money to allow him to complete Grade 7. He then moved to the city of Nampula, hitching a ride with an official of the Provincial Health Directorate, who sympathised with the young man, noting that he was alone and without the financial means to reach the provincial capital.

At that time, finishing the grade 7 was an honour for his family. But Amurane would not settle for that, and continued his studies at the former Secondary School 1º de Maio, which operated at the current facilities of the Catholic University of Mozambique in Nampula.

Brother of important member of the Frelimo party

The son of a person in charge of a mosque and designated sheikh, it was natural that he also belonged to the same religion. Almost every member of his family professes the Muslim faith. On several occasions, Amurane was approached by Christians inviting him to convert, but he declined and proved determined only to continue his studies.

Later, he reflected and came to the conclusion that a call from God would have him convert to Christianity. The first church he attended was the Assembly of God, but he later attended the Catholic Church.

Amurane participated in a training programme for air traffic controllers and, proving the best student in his group, went on to a second course in Maputo. Meanwhile, his sister Adelaide Amurane, who was Minister for Parliamentary Affairs in the Government of Armando Guebuza and currently holds the position of Minister in the Presidency for Home Affairs, advised him to change career in order to better his prospects, and offered him a 60-day training in Brazil teaching micro-entrepreneurs accounting, administration and finance.

After finishing the course, he returned to Mozambique, where he worked in the Employment Promotion Office of the Ministry of Labour as a business training technician. For roughly three years he saved money from his salary, having few expenses because he lived in her sister’s house. Some time later, he decided to return to Brazil on a Brazilian government scholarship.

Once there, he did not however put his feet up, but continued to work on a project performing as a coach but earning just US$300. That proving insufficient, he found work in restaurants and bars and, winning the sympathy of some Brazilians sponsors, obtained employment in the Banco Brasileiro as an intern at night and with the Public Servants’ Pension Institute.

A(n) (un)grateful professional

At the end of his studies, he had many offers of work in Brazil, but chose to return to Mozambique because his training had involved a lot of sacrifice and he felt the need to return to his homeland. “Mozambique needed me more than Brazil,” he told @Verdade shortly after the 2013 elections.

Having refused job offers in Brazil, he found himself knocking on every door in Maputo in search of employment. He first found a job as an administrative and financial coordinator at Medis Famaceutica Limitada, which led him to open his own pharmacy, having discovered that the pharmaceutical business generated good earnings. But he was not satisfied, because he felt undervalued and the work was routine, involving managing a warehouse and associated sales processes.

In 2000, he left his job to teach at the Middle Institute of Public Administration in Maputo. The following year, he began working as a lecturer at the Polytechnic University Institute in Quelimane, where he became an adviser to the Zambezia Provincial Health Directorate through the European Development Fund.

In 2003, he got an evening job teaching at the Mussa Bin Bique University while working as an administrative and management adviser at the Nampula Provincial Health Directorate during the day. The following year, he received an invitation to advise the Provincial Directorate of Health of Cabo Delgado on administration and management.

At the end of his contract he returned to Nampula, where he continued to teach project management at Mussa Bin Bique University. In 2006, he was invited to apply for a position as Education Program Officer with a Spanish NGO developing its activities in Niassa province.

Amurane has been called a reluctant professional, but his impulse was always for positions with dynamic functions, and in 2007 he joined the GIZ Pro Education work team as financial adviser in the province of Sofala. In 2012, he returned to the land of ‘macuas’ [Nampula] to take on the role of UNICEF financial adviser.

Before being elected mayor of the ‘Northern capital’ on 1 December 2013, he was selling pharmaceuticals and cosmetics in his own Amurane Pharmacy, where he was attacked.

Challenged the MDM and preparing for re-election

His aim as mayor was to impose a new dynamic on the governance of Nampula, and he believed that “through work it is possible to show that things can be done differently and produce results with developmental effects”, as he revealed in an interview @ True in 2013.

He could not however submit to the dictates of the party that elected him, and last August announced he was leaving the third-largest political party in Mozambique.

“I was convinced I could manage the municipality and show Mozambicans how treasury funds should be managed as an example of good municipal practice. I will continue until the end of my term. I am not here to defend any party’s or person’s interests, but those of all Mozambicans,” he said at the time.

“The peace that we celebrate today will sustain our hope […] if we all take ownership of the culture of peace in social life and focus on dialogue in solving our problems,” were the last words spoken in public by Mahamudo Amurane. He leaves a widow and three children.

Source: A Verdade