Lamola condemns Mashaba’s remarks on Samora Machel
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Sowetan
South African Minister of International Relations Ronald Lamola condemned remarks by ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba about the commemoration of former Mozambican president Samora Machel. Lamola defended neighbouring countries’ contribution to the struggle against apartheid in statements reported by the Sowetan.
South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola on Tuesday condemned ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba’s remarks about the commemoration of former Mozambican president Samora Machel, the Sowetan reports. “Your comments are deeply troubling,” Lamola wrote on social media, saying they revealed the political character of Mashaba and his party.
Before deleting his post, Mashaba had said that the tribute to Machel should take place in Mozambique and accused Africans of treating South Africa as if it owed them something. The minister recalled that Machel died in South Africa while returning from a meeting in Lusaka on the liberation of oppressed peoples.
Lamola’s remarks followed Monday’s commemoration of the 40th anniversary of Machel’s death at the memorial dedicated to him in Mbuzini, in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province. His daughter, Josina Machel, defended the preservation of the site and recalled that her father and three other people died there in connection with South Africa’s liberation struggle.
Lamola also highlighted the role of the frontline states, including Mozambique, in the struggle against apartheid. He said the cost of freedom had been borne beyond South Africa’s borders.
Summary produced with the help of artificial intelligence tools, under AFREEQUE’s editorial responsibility.
