Filipe Samuel Magaia (7 March 1937 – 10/11 October 1966) was a Mozambican politician, guerrilla leader and Secretary of Defense for the Mozambican

FRELIMO FRELIMO (; from the Portuguese , ) is a democratic socialist political party in Mozambique. It is the dominant party in Mozambique and has won a majority of the seats in the Assembly of the Republic in every election since the country's firs ...

organisation during the

Mozambican War of Independence The Mozambican War of Independence ( pt, Guerra da Independência de Moçambique, 'War of Independence of Mozambique') was an armed conflict between the guerrilla forces of the Mozambique Liberation Front or FRELIMO () and Portugal. The w ...

. After a number of years fighting, Magaia was assassinated by a Frelimo soldier in the employ of the Portuguese. Magaia was born in

Mocuba Mocuba is a city and seat of Mocuba District of Zambezia Province in Mozambique. It is located on the Licungo River. Demographics See also * Railways in Mozambique * Railway stations in Mozambique Railway stations in Mozambique include: ...

, in the

Zambezia Province Zambezia ( pt, Zambézia) is the second most-populous province of Mozambique, located in the central coastal region south-west of Nampula Province and north-east of Sofala Province. It has a population of 5.11 million, according to the 2017 cen ...

of Mozambique, the son of Samuel Guenguene Magaia, a health practitioner, and his wife Albinic Ana Perreira Magaia. During his years as commander of the FRELIMO forces, Magaia sought assistance from

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

in training his men. He outlined the strategy of the guerrilla forces as one of the "gradual wearing down, morally, psychologically and materially, of the enemy forces, and of the entire machinery that sustained the colonisation of Mozambique". He commanded forces during the initial attacks at Xai Xai, and later in the provinces of Niassa and

Tete Tete is the capital city of Tete Province in Mozambique. It is located on the Zambezi River, and is the site of two of the four bridges crossing the river in Mozambique. A Swahili trade center before the Portuguese colonial era, Tete continue ...

, using groups of ten to fifteen soldiers in quick guerrilla raids, advancing south towards Meponda and Mandimba, linking to Tete with the aid of forces from the Republic of Malawi. Enjoying freedom to move in the countryside, Magaia was able to increase his attack forces to the size of 100 soldiers in some cases,Brendan F. Jundanian, ''The Mozambique Liberation Front'', (Library of Congress: Institute Universitaire De Hautes Etupes Internacionales, 1970), pp. 76–80 however on 10 or 11 October 1966, on returning to

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

after inspecting the front lines, Magaia was shot dead by Lourenço Matola, a fellow FRELIMO guerrilla who was said to be in the employ of the Portuguese.

Notes

1937 births 1966 deaths People from Zambezia Province Mozambican independence activists FRELIMO politicians Assassinated Mozambican politicians People murdered in Tanzania Deaths by firearm in Tanzania 1966 murders in Africa Murder in Tanzania {{Mozambique-bio-stub