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Reflecting on the Matola raid in Mozambique, and how we should give renewed life to the visions of its heroes

13 Feb 2024

In a week a group of us will travel to Matola in Mozambique to visit the Matola raid sites and museum. Last week marked 43 years since the apartheid regime’s brutal Matola raid – a grim reminder of the senseless violence and disregard for human dignity that characterised the racist regime.

The Matola raid of 1981 represented one of the darkest expressions of the apartheid state’s brutal attempts to crush dissent and liberation movements. The ruthless assault on suspected Umkhonto weSizwe safe houses claimed the lives of at least 15 activists and freedom fighters – sons, brothers and husbands callously executed as so-called “terrorists” by an unjust regime clinging violently to power at any cost.

Among them were valiant leaders such as Mduduzi Guma, William Khanyile and Krishna Rabilal, cut down in their prime after dedicating their energies to the righteous cause of emancipation.

This was a controversial military operation condemned by the international community as a violation of Mozambique’s sovereignty and an act of aggression against the anti-apartheid movement. It exemplified the aggressive and destabilising tactics employed by the apartheid government to suppress opposition and remains a contentious chapter in the history of southern Africa, reflecting the complex dynamics of the apartheid era and the lengths to which the regime would go to maintain its grip on power.

Inequalities remain

As we reflect on this troubled history and honour those who sacrificed their lives to bring freedom to South Africa, hard questions must be asked about whether the ideals they fought for have yet to be realised.

As Mozambique’s first president, Samora Machel, declared, this wanton murder screamed for justice, for “liquidating war once and for all” so that true peace could flourish in the region. But 43 years later, can we truly say the robust, participatory democracy these men envisioned has come to pass?

Their sacrifices were meant to plant the seeds of a society rooted in equality, human rights and economic justice for all people – the very principles enshrined in our widely revered Constitution. Tragically, however, the promise of that document has failed to fully materialise as injustice persists in new forms.

Gaping inequalities remain etched along racial lines decades after the formal dismantling of apartheid. While a small black elite has prospered greatly – frequently through State Capture facilitated under the disgraced Zuma administration – millions still live without adequate housing, healthcare access, food and water security, or pathways out of poverty.

Nearly half the population battles unemployment, leaving young people feeling alienated and hopeless.

These systemic failures disproportionately affect black communities trapped in a cycle of deprivation that subverts the ideals of the Constitution.

Vulnerable migrants also regularly confront xenophobic attacks alongside economic exclusion – a far cry from the pan-African vision of solidarity and friendship articulated by Mozambique in the aftermath of the Matola raid. It is clear that we must recommit to this fraternal bond so central to the visions of the Matola raid heroes.

On that first anniversary in 1982, Machel called for 14 February to be declared a day of friendship between South Africa and Mozambique – a visionary call for reconciliation and pan-African solidarity even amid ongoing violence and oppression. Durban, as we know, remains closely tied to the Mozambican struggle. And there are inseparable bonds of solidarity between the ANC and Frelimo, and between South Africa and Mozambique.

In 1974 in Durban, Muntu Myeza, from the South African Students’ Organisation, organised rallies in support of Frelimo at Curries Fountain, making this rally one of the great moments in the political history of the city.

However, more than four decades later, we have done little to nourish this friendship marked by mutual understanding and support.

While the egregious racism of apartheid no longer exists in law, it often persists in fact through these ongoing human rights violations. We can’t ignore our continued obligation to support democracy and human rights beyond our borders, as Mozambique selflessly did during apartheid – extending solidarity across African nations was central to the visions of the activists who laid down their lives in Matola.

By naming and resolving conflicts still plaguing South African society while reaching out to uplift our neighbours, we give renewed life to the inspirational visions of these Matola raid heroes who gave everything so that justice might prevail. Their courage and sacrifice must continue lighting the path towards reconciliation. DM

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R29.

DM168 front page

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Inequalities remain