The death of Afonso Dhlakama: Mozambique's legendary politician and ex-guerilla leaves a legacy

On May 3, 2018, Mozambique and the world received the news that Afonso Dhlakama, one of Mozambique’s most influential politicians, has died.

The former guerrilla fighter and leader of Mozambique's National Resistance (known by its Portuguese acronym Renamo), the largest opposition party, died from ill health complications at one of the most crucial points of the country’s history – peace negotiations.

For over 40 years, Dhlakama led Renamo, a militant organization founded in 1977 and supported by anti-communist, white-minority rule governments of neighboring Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and South Africa, which fought in a civil war that devastated Mozambique for 16 years.

In 1992, most of the group disarmed and became a political party, but so far it has never managed to win a parliamentary majority in the Assembly of the Republic or beat the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) for the post of president.

In 2012, escalating tensions with the government led Renamo to take up arms again and move to the forests of the Gorongosa mountain range (in Sofala province) where Dhakama had taken refuge since 2015.

Among Renamo’s main demands is the decentralization of power which calls for, among other things, the election of provincial governors, who are currently appointed by the president. This project has already seen progress with the approval of constitutional revision in view of Renamo’s proposal.

A cease-fire was announced in December 2017, but the death of Renamo’s leader leaves the country’s future uncertain, given that he was the only person who negotiated directly with President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi.

The lack of an obvious successor is now hanging over the party, a consequence of the late leader’s authoritarian leadership style. General Ossufo Momade, a parliamentary deputy and current head of Renamo’s Department for Defence, recently took the leadership.

Both Renamo and Frelimo seem committed to continuing the peace process. President Nyusi made it clear that everything would continue as planned in terms of the peace negotiations. Momade said that the best way of honoring Dhlakama would be to conclude negotiations and decentralize the government.

On the day of Dhlakama’s death, President Nyusi’s message relayed that he had done everything he could to prolong Afonso Dhlakama’s life, including asking neighboring countries South Africa and Zimbabwe for help with a possible trip for Dhlakama to receive medical treatment.

In his funeral eulogy on May 9 in the city of Beira, Nyusi stated:

« It must be made clear that I will continue the peace process along with the new leadership of Dhlakama’s party, always respecting the legal and constitutional framework. We will be honouring his memory if we are able to conclude responsibly and quickly the political dialogue that is now centred on the process of decentralization, and the demobilization and social reintegration of Renamo’s combatants. »

The presence of the President of the Republic at Dhlakama’s funeral and holding an official ceremony received praise from various quarters, such as that of Manuel de Araújo, member of Mozambique’s third largest political force (MDM):

« His speech was impeccable, respectful, and dignified not only for him individually, but also for the role that he performs. Mozambique, our common homeland, came out winning. In front of a hostile audience, Nyusi was able to get, if my memory does not betray me, three rounds of applause, all referring to the Great Man and patriot that was Afonso Dhlakama! »

Hero or villain?

Opinions diverge on the heroism of Dhlakama, in a debate amplified by the fact that nearly all of the current national heroes come from Frelimo, the ruling party.

This fact was highlighted by the journalist and political commentator Fátima Mimbire:

« The leader of Renamo, Afonso Dhlakama, was a hero for some and a villain, maybe even the devil, for others. The reasons for considering him as one or the other are fair.

Some hated him because he sparked a war that killed thousands of Mozambicans. Some saw their houses destroyed, others their relatives killed. I myself had family that died, cousins raped. These are things which happen in war, where rights are suspended. Some still feel this grief and it is fair. Other drew a line under it and left everything to god’s judgement.

Others love, admire, and see him as a hero, not for the weapons that he wielded, but for the capacity that he had to confront the oppressive system of Frelimo. Yes, oppressive. He managed many times to put Frelimo on its knees and maybe we are not living any worse in this country as a result of this ability that he had to defy the establishment. »

Juma Aiuba, an influential Facebook commentator, said that Dhlakama would remain in the annals of Mozambique’s history:

« To say that the death of Afonso Dhlakama is a regression for democracy is very ungrateful. Dhlakama already sowed [the seed], watered [it] and the plant grew. If tomorrow the plant dies, the fault will not be his. It is now that the true leadership Dhlakama will show itself, because, after all, true leaders make themselves unnecessary. That is, the work of a great leader manifests itself when he becomes absent. Or, the work of a great leader does not die with the leader. The ‘worker’ dies, but the work remains and continues. The messenger dies, but the message remains and spreads. »

Bitone Viage, student and opinion-maker on social media, supported the idea that Dhlakama deserves the status of a national hero:

« Dhlakama was the victim of a history told by pseudo-historians.

Dhlakama was a legend, the biggest criminals were those who wrote our history, they were the culprits for whitewashing the facts as a way of saving the interests of those who ordered them to tell the facts according to their interests. The pseudo-historians misrepresented our history and with the death of Dhlakama it has become more difficult to know who really deserves the status of hero.

The heroism of Dhlakama was denied by the way that our history was told and consequently the definition of heroism was made to accommodate the interests of those that were glorified as winners by a history badly told. »