Samora Machel Monument

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox monument

|monument_name = Samora Machel Monument

|native_name =

|image = Samora Machel Plane Wreck.jpg

|caption = Remains of the plane wreck

|coordinates = {{Coord|-25.9161|31.9552|display=inline,title}}

|location = Mbuzini, South Africa

|designer = José Forjaz

|type =

|material =

|length =

|width =

|height =

|begin =

|complete = January 1999

|dedicated_to = Samora Machel

|map_name = South Africa Mpumalanga#South Africa

|map_caption =

|map_width =

|extra =

}}

The Samora Machel Monument in Mbuzini, near Komatipoort in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa, marks the spot where the plane carrying the then-President of Mozambique crashed in 1986. It resulted in the death of President Machel and several Mozambican ministers. It was declared a National Heritage Site in 2006.{{cite web

|url=http://www.buanews.gov.za/view.php?ID=06102008151001&coll=buanew06

|title=South Africans, Mozambicans urged to follow Machel's footsteps

|publisher=BuaNews

|accessdate=2009-03-24

}}

File:Samora Machel Monument.jpg

The monument was inaugurated by Joaquim Chissano and Nelson Mandela on 19 January 1999. It was constructed at a cost of $240,000 and incorporates some of the wreckage of the plane. Its central feature is 35 tubes of steel, symbolising the number of lives lost in the air crash, that create a wailing sound in the wind.{{cite web

|url = http://www.sardc.net/editorial/sadctoday/v2-5-01-1999/v2-5-01-1999-23.htm

|title = Samora Machel monument inaugurated

|publisher = SADC Today

|accessdate = 2009-03-24

|url-status = dead

|archiveurl = https://archive.today/20130222012202/http://www.sardc.net/editorial/sadctoday/v2-5-01-1999/v2-5-01-1999-23.htm

|archivedate = 2013-02-22

}}

A planned R11.2 million upgrade was to add access roads, an amphitheater, a helipad and buildings.{{cite web

|url=http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_1945731,00.html

|title=Moz monument to cost SA R11.2m

|publisher=News24

|accessdate=2009-03-24

}}

In 2006 a nearby library with a collection of books in English and Portuguese was opened. A statue of Machel, donated by Norwegian anti-apartheid artists, was also erected at the site.{{cite web

|url=http://www.southafrica.info/africa/machel-monument.htm

|title=Remembering Samora Machel

|publisher=SouthAfrica.info

|accessdate=2009-03-24

}}