Samora Machel

Samora Machel
Born	29 September 1933 Gaza Province, Portuguese Mozambique
Died	19 October 1986 (aged 53) Mbuzini, Transvaal, South Africa
Cause of death	Plane crash
Political orientation	Marxism-Leninism
Political party	FRELIMO

Samora Moisés Machel (29 September 1933 – 19 October 1986) was a Mozambican communist politician and revolutionary who served as the first President of Mozambique from independence in 1975 until his death in a plane crash in 1986. He played a major role in Mozambique's struggle for independence from Portugal and served as leader of FRELIMO from 1970, following the assassination of Eduardo Mondlane, until his death in 1986.

It is suspected that Machel's death was not an accident and was instead caused by imperialist forces, mostly likely apartheid South Africa, with socialist Burkinabe leader Thomas Sankara making a speech to that effect following the plane crash.