The Samora Machel Statue ( Portuguese: ''A Estátua de Samora Machel'') is a

bronze sculpture Bronze is the most popular metal for Casting (metalworking), cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply "a bronze". It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs, and small statuettes and figurines, as w ...

located in the center of

Praça da Independência Praça da Independência (English: Independence Square) is a public square and focal point of Maputo, Mozambique. It was built by the Portuguese as Praça Mouzinho de Albuquerque (''Mouzinho de Albuquerque Square'') and was dominated by a statue of ...

Maputo Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the Capital city, capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a popul ...

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. The statue depicts

Samora Machel Samora Moisés Machel (29 September 1933 – 19 October 1986) was a Mozambican military commander and political leader. A socialist in the tradition of Marxism–Leninism, he served as the first President of Mozambique from the country's ...

(1933-1986), military, revolutionary, and the first President of Mozambique. Statue of Samora Machel in Maputo, August 2022

The statue was designed and constructed in

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

by the

Mansudae Overseas Projects Mansudae Overseas Projects is a construction company based in Jongphyong-dong, Phyongchon District, Pyongyang, North Korea. It is the international commercial division of the Mansudae Art Studio. As of August 2011, it had earned an estimated US ...

, an arm of the

Mansudae Art Studio The Mansudae Art Studio is an art studio in Pyeongcheon District, Pyongyang, North Korea. It was founded in 1959, and it is one of the largest centers of art production in the world, at an area of over 120,000 square meters. The studio employs ar ...

. It stands and weighs 4.8 tons. The statue sits on a marble slab high at the head of Samora Machel Avenue, and is illuminated at night. The statue has been criticized for bearing little resemblance to Samora. The Samora Machel Statue sits in front of

Maputo City Hall Maputo City Hall or Municipal Council Building of Maputo (Portuguese: ''Edifício do Conselho Municipal de Maputo'') is the seat of the local government of the capital of Mozambique. The neoclassical building is located at the head of ''Praça ...

on the spot formerly occupied by a statue of

Joaquim Augusto Mouzinho de Albuquerque Joaquim Augusto Mouzinho de Albuquerque (12 November 1855 – 8 January 1902) was a Portuguese cavalry officer. He captured Gungunhana in Chaimite (1895) and was governor-general of Mozambique. He was a grandson of Luís da Silva Mouzinho de Albuq ...

, Governor-General of

Portuguese Mozambique Portuguese Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique) or Portuguese East Africa (''África Oriental Portuguesa'') were the common terms by which Mozambique was designated during the period in which it was a Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colony. Portuguese Moz ...

from 1896 to 1897. The statue was inaugurated on October 19, 2011, the 25th anniversary of Machel's death in an

aircraft crash An aviation accident is defined by the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place from the time any person boards the aircraft with the ''intention of f ...

on the convergence of the borders of Mozambique,

Swaziland Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Armando Guebuza Armando Emílio Guebuza (born 20 January 1943) is a Mozambican politician who was the third President of Mozambique from 2005 to 2015. Career Guebuza, born at Murrupula in Nampula Province, joined the Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO) at t ...

, the President of Mozambique, led the construction of the statue and its inauguration ceremony, which was attended by numerous foreign dignitaries. A smaller statue of Samora Machel sits at the entrance of the

Tunduru Gardens The Tunduru Gardens is public park and garden in downtown Maputo, Mozambique. It was designed in 1885 by British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Oversea ...

References

{{Mozambique-geo-stub 2011 in Mozambique Buildings and structures completed in 2011 Buildings and structures in Maputo Geography of Maputo Mansudae Overseas Projects Tourist attractions in Maputo