Mozambican Heroes Day – February 3, 2025

History of Mozambican Heroes Day

Mozambique had attracted European colonizers as early as the 15th century. Europeans first arrived in Mozambique during the voyages of the Portuguese explorer Vasco Da Gama. By 1530, Portugal dominated the region by effectively controlling the sea and marine trade routes. The opening up of sea trade routes made Mozambique easily accessible to colonial powers and quickly took over the country’s political and administration reins.

By the mid-1960s, Mozambicans had decided that it was time for self-rule. In September 1964, the growing unrest amongst Mozambicans coupled with liberation struggles of other territories from Portuguese rule led to the start of an armed guerrilla campaign against the colonizers. Eduardo Mondlane, popularly known as Frelimo, led the freedom struggle of the Mozambique Liberation Front.

He launched a guerrilla war against the Portuguese in northern Mozambique. Soon, his party claimed to have established its own administrative, educational, and economic networks in the northern districts. On February 3, 1969, an unknown assailant planted a bomb in a book sent to Mondlane at the Party Headquarters in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Since he was unaware of the conspiracy, he opened the package, and the bomb exploded and killed him. Though no one ever caught the real culprits, Mozambicans believed it was the colonial government’s work. Records show that over 10,000 Mozambiquans sacrificed their lives in the conflict that lasted almost ten years. He achieved a ceasefire with Portugal in 1974, and Mozambique gained its independence the following year.