“A Luta Continua”: Has Africa forgotten what Samora Machel really meant?
When Eduardo Chivambo Mondlane (1920-1969), who was one of the founders of the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) and its second president until his assassination in Tanzania in 1969, declared his slogan “ A Luta Continua”, it was later popularized and expanded by Samora Machel who declared “A Luta Continua” (“The Struggle Continues”), and asked “against what?”, he was not calling Africans to prepare for endless war.
Paul T. Shipale (with inputs by Folito Nghitongovali Diawara Gaspar)
When Eduardo Chivambo Mondlane (1920-1969), who was one of the founders of the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) and its second president until his assassination in Tanzania in 1969, declared his slogan “ A Luta Continua”, it was later popularized and expanded by Samora Machel who declared “A Luta Continua” (“The Struggle Continues”), and asked “against what?”, he was not calling Africans to prepare for endless war.
He was issuing a warning to future generations. He understood that defeating colonialism would be difficult, but building prosperous, just, self reliant and dignified nations would prove even harder.
More than fifty years after many African countries gained independence, one uncomfortable question confronts the continent:
Have we preserved the meaning of Samora Machel’s words, or have we merely inherited his slogan?
Across Africa, “A Luta Continua” echoes during independence celebrations, political rallies, party congresses and election campaigns. It remains one of the continent’s most recognisable political expressions. Yet it is too often repeated as ceremonial rhetoric rather than examined as a philosophy of governance and nation building.
For Samora Machel, liberation was never intended to end with the lowering of a colonial flag. Independence marked the beginning of a far more demanding struggle transforming political sovereignty into economic prosperity, institutional strength and social justice.
Independence Is an Event. Liberation Is a Process.
One of post-colonial Africa’s greatest misconceptions has been treating independence and liberation as though they were synonymous.
