Mozambique: Burial of Renamo leader Dhlakama in native village draws thousands

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Mozambique: Burial of Renamo leader Dhlakama in native village draws thousands

8:13 CAT | 10 May 2018

His native village of Mangunde, 300 kilometres south-west of Beira, the country's second city, was transformed for his homecoming, with thousands in attendance.

The remains of Afonso Dhlakama, the late president of Mozambique’s main opposition party, Renamo, were on Thursday buried in a Catholic ceremony at his family’s cemetery in a forest setting, a week after he died in his long-time hideout in the Gorongosa hills.

His native village of Mangunde, 300 kilometres south-west of Beira, the country’s second city, was transformed for his homecoming, with thousands in attendance. A place that until a few years ago had not even a dust road was forced to arrange space for parking for dozens of cars and several coaches carrying mourners to the ceremony.

An area was marked out for the religious ceremony, which took place in Portuguese and in Ndau, the local language, near the homes of Dhlakama’s father and other relatives.

Dhlakama’s family was joined by André Matsangaissa, Renamo’s first president, who sent a message: that the incoming leadership of Renamo must continue with his and Dhlakama’s project of reinforcing democracy.

Mozambique’s defence and security forces, against which Dhlakama and other Renamo members had fought fierce battles, paid him a final homage with a volley of rifle shots echoing through the forest surrounding the village.

Dhlakama had previously been honoured in an official funeral on Wednesday organised by the coungtry’s Frelimo government, in recognition of his status as opposition leader. He had died on 3 May, at the age of 65, of health complications.

Mozambique’s president, Filipe Nyusi, had at Wednesday’s funeral in Beira pledged to work to continue the “construction of peace” with the new leadership of Renamo, saying that Dhlakama’s death should not represent “a setback” for the agreements that the two men had worked on.

The leaders had been implementing a series of deals reached between them since late 2016, following years of deadly clashes between members of Renamo’s armed wing and government forces.

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Afonso #Dhlakama est rentré chez lui, à Mangunde, Sofala. Grosse émotion au #Mozambique #RIP pic.twitter.com/LLWBaKg4f7

— Adrien Barbier (@AdrienBarbier) May 10, 2018