Afonso Dhlakama
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Afonso Marceta Macacho Dhlakama (1 January 1953 – 3 May 2018) was a Mozambican politician and warlord who served as the leader of RENAMO, an anti-communist guerrilla movement that fought the Marxist FRELIMO government in the Mozambican Civil War.
Biography edit
After RENAMO's first leader, André Matsangaissa, was killed by Mozambican government forces in 1979, Dhlakama became leader. By 1984, Dhalakama was both commander in chief of RENAMO's forces and head of the governing body, the 12-member executive council. As leader of RENAMO Dhlakama sought to destabilise the FRELIMO government through guerilla strategies. Under his command RENAMO reached the peak of its power, controlling large parts of the country, especially in the north and being able to carry out raids virtually anywhere outside the major cities.
In its fight RENAMO was supported by conservative circles in some western countries, including the United States, Portugal, the Brazilian right-wing military regime, and most importantly by the white led governments of Rhodesia and South Africa to whom FRELIMO-ruled Mozambique was a target due to its support of rebel movements within their countries.
After the civil war, Dhlakama focused on politics and ran for president in 1994, 1999, and 2004. He failed to win each time. He also served as an advisor to the President of Mozambique for the sake of preserving stability in Mozambique, despite the reservations he had about FRELIMO.
In later years, Dhlakama once again grew to dislike FRELIMO's governance of the country. He repeatedly threatened to reestablish RENAMO's armed forces and to let the country "burn". In 2011 he stated that RENAMO was preparing a "revolution" to rid the government from power and establishing new barracks for this purpose. He officially reorganized RENAMO as a military force in 2013 and subsequently began a new insurgency against the government. Over the next several years, several peace treaties between the two parties were signed and failed.
Dhlakama passed away on May 3, 2018 at age 65, after suffering from a heart attack. After his death, the leadership of RENAMO passed to Ossufo Momade.