Samora Machel Statue & Tunduro Botanical Garden

In the Shadow of a Great Man...

The statue of Marshal Samora Moises Machel is located in front of the Tunduro Garden and besides the Iron House. Samora Machel was born on the 29th of September 1933, in Chilembene, Gaza Province, south of Mozambique. 

In 1963 he joined FRELIMO in Tanzania, in order to take place in the National Liberation War. A bold move at the time in 1967 he created a Female Nucleus in order to include women in the Liberation War. In June 25th 1975, the country got its independence from the colonial power of Portugal and he became the first President of Mozambique. 

Samora Machel was a charismatic leader of socialist inspiration, he faced, almost alone, the racist regimes of South Africa and Rodhesia (Zimbabwe) and fought against RENAMO in a long civil war within the country. 

He died on the 19th of October 1986 when the plane he was travelling on crashed in Mbuzini, South African territory. The accident was rumoured to have been a pilot error on behalf of the Russian pilot who was flying at the time. There was speculation of the possible involvement of the South African Government but it was never proved. 

A National Hero and “Father of the Nation”, Samora Machel symbolizes the liberation of the human being from all forms of discrimination and exploitation. Thus the reason a Bronze Statue was erected in the 1990s in his honour. The statue depicts Samora Machel with his arm raised and finger pointing up, a characterising stance of his during his popular speeches.

The Entrance & Trees to the Tunduro Botanical Garden.

It is situated in an area known as “Horta dos Banianes” in central down town of Maputo City within a few metres of the Cathedral. Originally established in 1885 as “Vasco da Gama Garden” the Tunduro Garden was designed by the British landscape architect Thomas Honney, the same man who designed gardens for the Sultan of Turkey and the King of Greece. 

Between the period 1907 and 1918, the garden was under the charge of Thomas Honney who used only the lower part (about 30% of the total area) of the garden which extends some 64 000 m2. Between the period 1927 and 1944 the garden area was extended and used more extensively under the charge of Guilherme Melquíades. 

The entrance shaped in the form of an archway built in the Manuelino architectural style is painted in white and adorns the main entrance from Samora Machel Avenue. Within the gardens,
there are different native and exotic plants and trees from Africa, Europe, Asia and South America. 

Unfortunately, these gardens have been left to its own devices and weather challenges and it is honestly not worth while stopping of at this so-called tourist attraction. 

It has long gone past its prime and now looks like a standard government park, strewn with litter - with the smell of urine and alcohol everywhere. The homeless people who inhabit it during the evenings, have found a little spot in paradise.