Mozambique won independence on June 25, 1975

Mozambique won independence on June 25, 1975. Independence came exactly thirteen years after FRELIMO was founded in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (then Tanganyika), June 25, 1962. The struggle for independence was long and bloody. The Mueda massacre of June 18, 1960 was a turning point for the struggle; well over 600 innocent civilians were dead when the Portuguese stopped shooting in the northern province of Cabo Delgado. The massacre convinced many in Mozambique that the time had come to wage war on Portugal. Thousands of refugees slipped through the border to Tanzania. The first batch of recruits travelled to Algeria from Tanganyika to receive military training in 1963. Trained FRELIMO soldiers returned to camps in Kongwa, Tanzania and eventually Nachingwea on the border with Mozambique. FRELIMO waged a brilliant guerilla warfare against the Portuguese between 1964 and 1974. Tens of thousands of Mozambicans sacrificed their lives in order to win independence. Their sacrifices paid off when the country won independence in 1975. Tanzania fully backed the struggle for independence in Mozambique. It was because of this help that FRELIMO sent Mwalimu Julius K. Nyerere a letter in July 1968 thanking Tanzania for their support.

By Azaria C. Mbughuni