House where Samora Machel lived in Machala inspires museum dream

A old house where Samora Machel lived as a tenant in Mafala, Maputo, transformed by time and urban growth, inspires, 40 years after his death, appeals for conversion in a museum dedicated to the memory of the first Mozambican President.

Today rebuilt in masonry and with more modern features, the small and historic house has few traces of the old, wood and zinc, which welcomed the then nurse Samora Machel in the 1960s, before assuming the leadership of the national liberation struggle and later of the independent country.

“He was a good person. He helped a lot of people, gave injections, walked house to house, helped a lot of people ", tells Lusa Aua Mussá Anacleto, 72 years old, a few meters from the old residence, while accompanying from the balcony of his house the daily movement of the narrow streets of Mafala, a neighborhood that was also central stage of the anticolonial struggle in Maputo.

Born and raised in the neighborhood, Aua Mussá Anacleto says she grew up hearing stories about Samora Machel, who died in an air accident 40 years ago, on October 19, 1986, told by her mother and other older residents. Many of these memories refer to the period in which the future President worked as a nurse and was known for his support to the population.

Born September 29, 1933, in Chilembene, Chókwè district, Gaza province, Samora Machel worked as a nurse on Inhaca Island and then Miguel Bombarda Hospital, present-day Maputo Central Hospital, before leaving the country in 1963, to join the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo), founded the previous year in Tanzania.

The memory of this period also crosses the very home of Aua Mussá Anacleto. By pointing to a modest room that preserves traces of the old buildings of the Makala, it recalls stories associated with the last years of the colonial period.

“This room was their meeting,” he says, indicating the compartment where, as he recalls, figures were gathered linked to nationalist movements.

A few meters away, the memories gain a more concrete dimension in the old residence where Samora Machel lived as a tenant. The owner of the house, who prefers not to be identified, recalls the years in which the future President leased the property to his parents.

“ I was in third, fourth, and I could write. Passes his name”, tells Lusa.

Samora Machel lived in the residence with an aunt and two brothers, a house of four divisions: two rooms and two bedrooms.

The family always kept a positive image of the former tenant.

“ From what I heard and saw, he'd spend every month sending the rent money. My mother never complained”, she plays.

She also heard numerous stories about the nurse who helped the residents of the neighborhood: “I knew he was a nurse and helped many people here.”.

Years later, Samora Machel would take over command of the Mozambique Liberation Armed Forces, become leader of Frelimo after the assassination of Eduardo Mondlane in 1969, and proclaim national independence on June 25, 1975, taking office as first President of the Republic.

During its governance, it adopted a socialist political model, promoted the nationalization of strategic sectors and bet on the expansion of public education and health services.

The house where he lived, however, followed a more discreet route. Over the years, the degradation of the structure has forced the realization of successive works.

“It rained and it was dripping. The first thing he did was buy zinc plates”, recalls the owner, referring to one of the brothers who returned from South Africa and decided to recover the housing.

The works would eventually change the original appearance of the residence.

“ When they went to rehabilitate the house, they saw that the wood itself was tired. They had to take everything out and put it back on. By the way, instead of putting it again, we will put it in blocks ", explains.

Despite the changes, he considers that the connection between the house and the history of the country remains a source of pride.

“ It was a great honor. In a way you've dignified us. He lived in the house that belonged to my parents ", says.

It is precisely this memory that Arnaldo Nuvunga, 29 years old, seeks to convey to his children.

“ Since childhood. The quotas said he lived here ", tells Lusa. Growing up in Mafala, he recalls that he heard reports from an early age about Samora Machel's passing through the neighborhood.

“It wasn’t like that then. It was wooden and zinc”, recalls the young man, already father of two children, who makes a point of showing the house to the children whenever he passes by the place.

“ When we pass here, I point out and say that this house was the first President’s house”, he says.

According to reports, the reaction of children is always surprising: “They stay ‘wow’.”.

For Arnaldo Nuvunga, the preservation of this memory should not depend only on the stories transmitted by the residents.

“It could indeed be a museum”, he argues, adding: “Be a library, remember it even more.”.

The idea is shared by other residents, who advocate the transformation of the old residence into a memory space dedicated to the history of Mafala and the first Mozambican President.

For the young man, it would be a way of preserving Samora Machel’s legacy, “not to forget him and what he did for the country”.

Samora Machel died on 19 October 1986 in an air disaster in South African territory. Forty years later, the house where he lived in Mafala continues to survive between the city's changes and the memories of the residents, who defend that the property find a permanent place in the history it helped to build.