“Those who have died fought a good fight. They have passed on the torch to us. We dare not let it drop.” Mpumalanga’s premier quoted those words of Oliver Tambo at Mbuzini on October 19. This month, from a hillside in Mpumalanga to a concert hall in Kigali (the source does not name the venue), a festival stage in Ouagadougou and a theatre in Kingston, ordinary people showed what holding that torch looks like. Some came to remember a liberation leader, some came to sing, and some came to learn what their heroes stood for.
Mbuzini remembers Samora Machel, 40 years on
On October 19, 1986, the plane carrying Samora Machel, the founding president of independent Mozambique, crashed in the Lebombo Mountains at Mbuzini, on the South African side of the border. Machel and 34 others died, among them Mozambican officials, crew members, Cuban doctors and the ambassadors of Zambia and Zaire.
Forty years later, on Monday, October 19, 2026, South Africa and Mozambique held a joint commemoration at the Samora Machel Monument and Museum in Mbuzini. Mozambican President Daniel Chapo, South Africa’s international relations minister Ronald Lamola, defence minister Angie Motshekga, Machel’s widow Graça Machel, liberation veterans and local residents attended, Emsamo News and Inside Politics reported.
The Premier of Mpumalanga, Mandla Ndlovu, gave the warmest words to the village itself. Under Inkosi Mlambo III, he said, the people of Mbuzini still carry the scars of that night. “We pay tribute to the elders who courageously ran up these dark slopes, defying aggressive security forces, driven by nothing but their humanity and compassion, to comfort the dying and search for survivors,” he said. He added that the best way to honour Machel’s generation is “through our commitment to transforming the material conditions of our people today,” and said the monument and museum now receives about 6,800 visitors a month. (Figure from the premier; not independently confirmed.)
President Chapo (quotes translated from Portuguese) said Machel “understood that the freedom of Mozambique would not be fully secured if our brother people of Southern Africa remained subjected to oppression,” and that his solidarity with South Africa’s liberation movement came at a high cost to Mozambicans. “The generation of Samora Machel has conquered the freedom of the homeland. Our generation must transform this freedom into prosperity for the people,” he said. He also said questions about the crash remain: “The families deserve answers, and history demands the truth.” The cause of the crash has been contested for decades, with questions about the aircraft’s navigation and about possible interference by the apartheid regime still unanswered (according to Inside Politics).
Minister Lamola recalled Machel’s words in Beira: “The duty of each one of us, leaders, is to give everything to the people, to be last when there are benefits to be won, and first when there are sacrifices to be made.”
Kigali sings Lucky Dube
The day before, on Sunday, October 18, reggae fans in Kigali gathered to mark 19 years since South African reggae singer Lucky Dube was shot dead during an attempted carjacking in Rosettenville, Johannesburg, in 2007. The concert, organised by Holly Jah Doves Ltd, featured the Holly Jah Doves Band, Mystic Revelation Band and several solo artists, UkoMedia reported. The crowd sang “Remember Me,” “Together as One,” “Back to My Roots” and “Slave,” alongside Bob Marley classics and Kinyarwanda songs played in reggae style.
Fan Tuyishime Jean Chrisostome said: “We came to sing, dance and celebrate Lucky Dube. We are happy to remember him because he left us a message of peace and love. We must protect his legacy and encourage people to leave behind bad things and do what is right.” Mukandahinyuka Gaudiose, known as Mama Hub, said: “I do not remember him only on October 18. I remember him every day because a hero never dies. Lucky Dube left many songs encouraging Africans to stand together and fight discrimination and injustice.” In Abidjan, the AZK Live venue listed its own Lucky Dube memorial night of reggae covers for the same evening.
Ouagadougou’s REMA: from passive fans to active supporters
From October 22 to 24, Ouagadougou hosted the ninth Rencontres Musicales Africaines, known as REMA, with artists and music professionals from 18 countries, Journal du Faso reported. The theme was “Followers: from passive to active.” Festival director Mohamed Kaboré, the singer known as Alif Naaba, put it plainly (quotes from REMA are translated from French): “Having thousands of followers does not always mean having an engaged audience, able to give real support to a musical career.” The idea is for fans to listen, share, buy tickets and help fund the music they love.
Five Burkinabè artists chosen by a national committee, Damo Fama, L’Élue, Fereké Wassa, Moussa Dabré and Eunice Goula, played a free concert at the Cité de la Musique on October 22. On October 23, the REMA Play night at the Centre culturel du Faso was full by 8 p.m. and ran until about 3 a.m., with Yilim and Lil Jay Bingerack from Côte d’Ivoire, Salima Chica from Angola, Malakey from Mali and Jeady Jay from Congo, Libre Info reported.
The artists praised the crowd. “The audience reflects the mentality of Burkina: the welcome, the love,” said Lil Jay Bingerack, who was performing in Ouagadougou for the first time. Salima Chica called Burkina Faso her “new home.” In the audience, Lydia Ouédraogo liked the setting and the new faces on stage, while first-timer Moïse Koala said he had only just discovered the festival and urged organisers to publicise it more widely. A food seller summed up her night: “I came to trade, I sold, it was good.”
Kingston’s young performers win the Garvey award again
In Jamaica, National Heroes Day fell on Monday, October 19, honouring Marcus Mosiah Garvey, the country’s first National Hero, alongside Nanny of the Maroons, Sam Sharpe, Paul Bogle, George William Gordon, Norman Manley and Sir Alexander Bustamante. Days before, on October 15, Ardenne High School in Kingston won the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission’s Marcus Garvey Award for Excellence in the Performing Arts for the 14th year in a row, at a ceremony at the Little Theatre, the Jamaica Information Service reported.
Culture minister Olivia Grange told the young performers: “Garvey understood that greatness begins with the confidence to believe in our own potential. But confidence must be matched by discipline, dedication, and the determination to strive for excellence.” Ardenne’s co-curricular coordinator, Gracia Thompson, said: “The students have worked very, very hard, and this is the reward.” The school competes in music, steel pan, drumming, choir, drama, speech and dance, and its coaches start preparing each October for the next festival season.
Why it matters
Machel, Lucky Dube and Garvey are remembered for big ideas: freedom across borders, Africans standing together, pride in who we are. But in each of these stories, the people keeping those ideas alive are ordinary: village elders in Mbuzini, a fan called Mama Hub in Kigali, a food seller in Ouagadougou, a school coach in Kingston. Holding the torch can be as simple as visiting a memorial, singing a song of unity with your neighbours, paying for a ticket to see a local artist, or turning up early to coach the young ones.
Sources: Emsamo News, Inside Politics, South African Government and DIRCO (speech by Minister Ronald Lamola), UkoMedia, Baab, Journal du Faso, Libre Info, REMA official site, Jamaica Information Service via Abeng News, Jamaica Gleaner and timeanddate. Quotes from REMA are translated from French.
Soul Journey of Life
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