JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The late Mozambican president and freedom fighter Samora Machel will be remembered Monday at a joint ceremony by South Africa and Mozambique to mark 40 years since he tragically died in a mysterious plane crash.
The ceremony is set to take place in Mbuzini, an area in South Africa's Mpumalanga province near the plane crash site.
Machel was Mozambique’s leader after it gained independence from Portuguese colonial rule in 1975 until his untimely death in 1986.
His death sent shock waves throughout the continent, where he was an outspoken and revered anti-colonial voice.
An inquiry into the cause of the plane crash that killed Machel and 34 other people blamed the pilots, but 40 years after his death there are still questions about what really happened.
Here’s what to know about Machel and the mysterious plane crash that killed one of Africa’s leading political figures:
On Oct. 18, 1986, Machel was killed alongside some members of his cabinet, journalists and flight crew members when the plane they were traveling in crashed into the Lebombo mountains in the South African area of Mbuzini near the Mozambique and Eswatini border.
They were returning from a meeting of regional leaders in Zambia.
A South Africa-led investigation into the plane crash blamed the pilots for the crash and ruled out any foul play, but Mozambique believed the crash was planned by the South African government to assassinate Machel.
Officials and experts from Mozambique and the Soviet Union, where the aircraft was manufactured, rejected the findings of the report.
Among some of their allegations was that a false beacon had been erected to divert the aircraft in the wrong direction, but this was dismissed by the inquiry.
The plane crash was also the subject of the post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa, which did not make any conclusive findings but recommended further investigations.
It did, however, raise some questions about the conclusions reached by the report of the 1987 inquiry, including the alleged presence of South African soldiers in the area of the crash a day before it happened.
Mozambique gained independence from Portuguese colonial rule in 1975 after a decade-long armed struggle by the country’s nationalist movement, FRELIMO, which had waged its liberation war mainly from bases in Tanzania.
Machel became the liberation movement’s main leader after the 1969 death of its then leading figure, Eduardo Mondlane.
FRELIMO’s armed struggle gained momentum and by 1974 it was controlling large parts of northern Mozambique while Portugal was struggling to maintain the human and financial toll of its colonial wars that were also taking place in Angola and Guinea-Bissau.
Following the 1974 overthrow of the dictatorship in Portugal, the new government decided to bring an end to the wars and signed the Lusaka Accord with FRELIMO, putting in place a transitional government and a framework toward independence.
In 1975, Machel was sworn in as the country’s president and declared Mozambique’s independence, establishing a one-party Marxist state.
However, the celebrations were short-lived as the country was plunged into a civil war between FRELIMO and the rebel movement RENAMO, an anti-communist movement formed after independence and backed by South Africa and the then Rhodesia, two years after independence.
While Mozambique had gained its own independence, Machel saw his country’s freedom as incomplete while there was still white minority rule in southern Africa.
He became synonymous with the phrase “A luta continua,” which translates to “the struggle continues,” as he repeatedly chanted it in reference to the liberation struggle against apartheid South Africa and white minority rule in Zimbabwe, then known as Rhodesia.
His support for liberation movements in the region made Mozambique vulnerable to raids and airstrikes by the governments of South Africa and Zimbabwe as they pursued freedom fighters who found refuge in the country.
Many liberation fighters from South Africa and Zimbabwe were killed during attacks in Mozambique during the time.
Machel’s government was backed by the Soviet Union and Cuba, and its Marxist-Leninist posture transformed its clashes with RENAMO into a Cold War proxy conflict.
FILE - President Samora Machel in Maputo, Mozambique, in 1984. (AP Photo/Mark Peters, File)
FILE - A pedestrian, left, walks past a construction crane and a statue of Samora Machel, the first president of Mozambique, right, at sunset in Maputo, Mozambique, Sept. 3, 2019. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys know they've dug themselves a hole with their slow start.
The Cowboys (2-4) believe they still have what it takes to turn things around.
“We’ve just got to go get a win," Prescott said after the Cowboys' 23-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night. "That’s the only way to work our way out of this hole and get momentum going and just to get the confidence and rolling on both sides of the ball, special teams included. We need some good momentum, and the only way to do it is to get a win.”
On a night when the Cowboys’ beleaguered defense finally showed signs of life, their star-studded offense let them down.
Prescott threw two interceptions on back-to-back drives to thwart scoring opportunities in the second quarter. The Cowboys were scoreless in a first half for the first time since Nov. 7, 2021, when they trailed 16-0 at the half of a 30-16 loss to Denver.
Prescott went 34 of 54 for 258 yards. His only touchdown pass – a 6-yarder to Ryan Flournoy – came with 44 seconds left in the game.
“I didn’t plan on coming to this game and throw it 54 times,” Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “That wasn’t the plan. That’s not a good recipe against this defense that’s been down against the run and pretty good against the pass. So, that wasn’t a good recipe for us. But that’s the way the game turned out.”
The Cowboys trailed 7-0 and faced second-and-8 from Green Bay’s 17 when Prescott took a big hit from Zaire Franklin. On the next play, Evan Williams intercepted Prescott's pass that was intended for CeeDee Lamb.
Dallas trailed 10-0 on its next possession and had first-and-15 from Green Bay’s 28 when Lamb fell on a route, enabling Packers rookie Brandon Cisse to make his first career interception.
“Only leaving the game with 13 points — one of the touchdowns came in trying-to-make-something-happen time, very frustrating,” Prescott said. “But we’ve got to fix it, and all the guys in that locker room are capable of it.”
Dallas’ problems on offense were particularly disappointing because its defense responded to adversity Sunday after struggling all season. The defense’s performance offered at least one reason for hope that the Cowboys can still turn things around, particularly because nobody has stood out in the NFC East so far.
The Cowboys entered this game allowing a league-high 6.4 yards per play and searching for answers after an embarrassing 24-16 home loss to the previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Dallas’ defense held a players-only meeting to discuss how to improve. The Cowboys also brought in veteran defensive assistant Mike Pettine in the days leading up to this game to help out first-year defensive coordinator Christian Parker.
Pettine was Green Bay’s defensive coordinator from 2018-20. Parker was a defensive quality control coach with the Packers from 2019-20.
Dallas’ defense responded, though it got some help when three potential touchdown passes by Green Bay’s Jordan Love were dropped — two by Matthew Golden and one from Christian Watson.
Green Bay took the lead for good with a 90-yard touchdown drive on its opening possession, but Dallas’ defense stiffened from there and produced a number of big plays.
Dee Winters got the Cowboys’ first interception of the season when he made a diving catch in front of Golden late in the first quarter. Winters then got up and weaved between multiple defenders to run over 40 yards for an apparent touchdown, but a replay review determined he was touched by Golden while still on the ground.
Quinnen Williams stopped Pierre Strong Jr. for a 1-yard loss when Green Bay had second-and-goal at the 1 in the second quarter. Malik Hooker then made an open-field tackle after Tucker Kraft caught a pass on third-and-goal, causing the Packers to settle for Trey Smack's 25-yard field goal.
Kenny Clark, who spent his first nine NFL seasons in Green Bay, got his first sack of the season in his return to Lambeau Field.
“We’re making strides, but we’re not where we want to be," cornerback DaRon Bland said of the defense's performance.
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Dallas Cowboys' Dak Prescott reacts after being hit during the first half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers in Green Bay, Wis., Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Huh)
Green Bay Packers' Lukas van Ness stopos Dallas Cowboys' Dak Prescott during the second half of an NFL football game in Green Bay, Wis., Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Huh)
Green Bay Packers' Evan Williams stops Dallas Cowboys' Dak Prescott during the second half of an NFL football game in Green Bay, Wis., Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)
Green Bay Packers' Evan Williams stops Dallas Cowboys' Dak Prescott during the second half of an NFL football game in Green Bay, Wis., Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)
