Filipe Samuel Magaia (7 March 1937 – 10/11 October 1966) was a

Mozambican Mozambican may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Mozambique, a country in southeastern Africa * A person from Mozambique, or of Mozambican descent: ** Demographics of Mozambique ** Culture of Mozambique ** List of Mozambicans * Mozambic ...

revolutionary and guerrilla leader. He was the Secretary of Defense for the Mozambican

FRELIMO FRELIMO (; from , ) is a democratic socialist political party in Mozambique. It has governed the country since its independence from Portugal in 1975. Founded in 1962, FRELIMO began as a nationalist movement fighting for the self-determination ...

organisation during the

Mozambican War of Independence The Mozambican War of Independence was an armed conflict between the guerrilla forces of the Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO) and Portuguese Armed Forces, Portugal. The war officially started on 25 September 1964, and ended with a ceas ...

. After a number of years fighting, Magaia was assassinated by a renegade FRELIMO soldier who was working for the Portuguese. Magaia was born in

Mocuba Mocuba is a city and seat of Mocuba District of Zambezia Province in Mozambique. It is located on the Licungo River. Geography Mocuba is situated in the central part of Mozambique, approximately 600 kilometers (370 miles) to the north of the ...

, in the

Zambezia Province Zambezia ( ) is the second most-populous province of Mozambique, located in the central coastal region south-west of Nampula Province and north-east of Sofala Province. It has a population of 5.11 million, according to the 2017 census. The provin ...

of Mozambique, the son of Samuel Guenguene Magaia, a health practitioner, and his wife Albinic Ana Perreira Magaia. During his years as commander of the FRELIMO forces, Magaia sought assistance from

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

in training his men. He outlined the strategy of the guerrilla forces as one of the "gradual wearing down, morally, psychologically and materially, of the enemy forces, and of the entire machinery that sustained the colonisation of Mozambique". He commanded forces during the initial attacks at Xai Xai, and later in the provinces of

Niassa Niassa is a province of Mozambique with an area of 129,056 km2 and a population of 1,810,794 (2017). It is the most sparsely populated province in the country. Lichinga is the capital of the province. There are a minimum estimated 450,000 ...

and

Tete Tete may refer to: * Tete, Mozambique, a city in Mozambique *Tété (born 1975), a French musician *Tetê (born 2000), a Brazilian footballer *Tete Montoliu (1933–1997), Spanish jazz pianist **''Tete!'', an album by Tete Montoliu *Tete Province ...

, using groups of ten to fifteen soldiers in quick guerrilla raids, advancing south towards Meponda and Mandimba, linking to Tete with the aid of forces from the

Republic of Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

. Enjoying freedom to move in the countryside, Magaia was able to increase the size of his attack forces to 100 soldiers in some cases.Brendan F. Jundanian, ''The Mozambique Liberation Front'', (Library of Congress: Institute Universitaire De Hautes Etupes Internacionales, 1970), pp. 76–80 On 10 or 11 October 1966, on returning to

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

after inspecting the front lines, Magaia was shot dead by Lourenço Matola, a fellow FRELIMO guerrilla who was said to be in the employ of the Portuguese.

Notes

1937 births 1966 deaths People from Zambezia Province Mozambican independence activists FRELIMO politicians Assassinated Mozambican politicians People murdered in Tanzania Deaths by firearm in Tanzania People murdered in 1966 Politicians assassinated in 1966 {{Mozambique-bio-stub