Mozambique: Mafalala house where Samora Machel lived stands the test of time and inspires dream of a museum

The house where Samora Machel lived as a tenant in Mafalala, Maputo, transformed by time and urban growth, is inspiring calls, 40 years after his death, for it to be converted into a museum dedicated to the memory of Mozambique’s first President.

Now rebuilt in masonry and featuring more modern characteristics, the small historic house retains few traces of the original wooden-and-zinc structure that accommodated Samora Machel, then a nurse, in the 1960s, before he took over the leadership of the national liberation struggle and, later, of the independent country.

“He was a good person. He helped many people, gave injections, went from house to house, helped many people,” Aua Mussá Anacleto, 72, tells Lusa, standing a few metres from the former residence while watching the daily movement in Mafalala’s narrow streets from the veranda of her home. The neighbourhood was also a central stage in Maputo’s anti-colonial struggle.

Born and raised in the neighbourhood, Aua Mussá Anacleto says she grew up hearing stories about Samora Machel, who died in a plane crash 40 years ago, on 19 October 1986. Her mother and other older residents told these stories, many of which recall the period when the future President worked as a nurse and was known for the support he provided to the population.

Born on 29 September 1933, in Chilembene, Chókwè district, Gaza province, Samora Machel worked as a nurse on Inhaca Island and at the then Miguel Bombarda Hospital, now 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 that period also runs through Aua Mussá Anacleto’s own house. Pointing to a modest room that retains features of Mafalala’s old buildings, she recalls stories associated with the final years of the colonial period.

“That room was where they held their meetings,” she says, indicating the space where, according to her recollection, figures associated with nationalist movements would gather.

A few metres away, these memories take on a more concrete form in the former residence where Samora Machel lived as a tenant. The owner of the house, who prefers not to be identified, remembers the years when the future President rented the property from her parents.

“I would write out the receipt, and I was already in the third or fourth grade and knew how to write. I would write his name,” she tells Lusa.

She recalls that Samora Machel lived in the house with an aunt and two brothers. The house had four rooms: two living rooms and two bedrooms.

The family always retained a positive image of their former tenant.

“From what I heard and saw, he came by every month to send the rent money. My mother never complained,” she jokes.

She, too, heard numerous stories about the nurse who helped the neighbourhood’s residents. “I learnt that he was a nurse and helped many people here.”

Years later, Samora Machel would take command of the Mozambique Liberation Armed Forces, become Frelimo’s leader following the assassination of Eduardo Mondlane in 1969, and proclaim national independence on 25 June 1975, becoming the country’s first President.

During his rule, Samora adopted a socialist political model, promoted the nationalisation of strategic sectors and focused on expanding public education and health services.

The house where Samora lived, however, followed a more discreet course. Over the years, the deterioration of the structure made successive renovation works necessary.

“It happened to rain and the place was leaking. The first thing he did was buy zinc sheets,” the owner recalls, referring to one of the brothers who returned from South Africa and decided to repair the house.

The works would eventually change the residence’s original appearance.

“When they went to renovate the house, they saw that the wood itself was already worn out. They had to remove everything and put it back again. So, since we were doing it now, instead of putting it back again, we would use blocks,” she explains.

Despite the changes, she believes the house’s connection to the country’s history remains a source of pride.

“It was a great honour. In a way, it gave us dignity. He lived in the house that belonged to my parents,” she says.

It is precisely this memory that Arnaldo Nuvunga, 29, seeks to pass on to his children.

“Since childhood. The older people used to say that he lived here,” he tells Lusa. Having grown up in Mafalala, he recalls hearing accounts from an early age about Samora Machel’s time in the neighbourhood.

“It wasn’t like this back then. It was made of wood and zinc,” the young man recalls. Now the father of two children, he makes a point of showing them the house whenever he passes by.

“When we pass here, I point it out and tell them that this house belonged to the first President,” he says.

According to him, the children are always surprised. “They go, ‘Wow’.”

For Arnaldo Nuvunga, preserving this memory should not depend solely on stories passed down by residents.

“It really could be a museum,” he argues, adding: “A library, to remember him even more.”

The idea is shared by other residents, who advocate turning the former residence into a memorial space dedicated to the history of Mafalala and Mozambique’s first President.

For the young man, this would be a way to preserve Samora Machel’s legacy, “so as not to forget him and what he did for the country”.

Samora Machel died on 19 October 1986 in a plane crash on South African territory. Forty years later, the house where he lived in Mafalala continues to survive amid the city’s changes and the memories of residents, who argue that the property should have a permanent place in the history it helped shape.

Source: Lusa