The funeral ceremonies for Afonso Dhlakama, leader of Mozambique’s main opposition party, the rebel movement Renamo, who died on Thursday, will take place over two days, in the central city of Beira, and in his birthplace of Mangunde, in Chibabava district.
Speaking at a Saturday press conference in Beira, at the end of the first high level Renamo meeting since Dhlakama’s death, Ossufo Momade, a former general secretary of the party, said the ceremonies will start on Wednesday, when Dhlakama’s body will lie in state in Beira. The following day, the body will be taken to Mangunde, where Dhlakama will be buried.
The Beira meeting chose Momade, who held the rank of general in the Renamo’s army, as coordinator of the party’s political commission.
He will hold this position until the next meeting of the Renamo national council, or until Renamo holds a congress. “As from then we shall have somebody who will decide on the destiny of the party”, said Momade.
The government announced on Friday night that an official funeral will be held for Dhlakama, as dictated by the 2014 law on the status of the leader of the second most voted party in the Mozambican parliament. A ministerial commission, headed by Justice Minister Isaque Chande, is to coordinate with Renamo on the funeral arrangements.
It is not yet clear whether President Filipe Nyusi will attend the funeral – but he has cleared his diary for next week, postponing state visits that he was to have made to Norway and Finland.
Reference: Source: AIM – Club of Mozambique