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On the 25th of March 1967j the Portuguese troops stationed in SAGAL went to the Post of MUEDA, for the Easter celebrations. On their
way, near Mueda, the convey, composed of 15 vehicles, fell into an
ambush made by FRELIMO militias. Two vehicles were destroyed. The
others continued on their way, after collecting the dead soldiers and
the survivors.
On the Easter Sunday, the commander of the garrison of MUEDA ordered the people of a strategic hamlet next to the post, to dance for the
Portuguese soldiers. Many soldiers cane to watch the dancing. They cane
unarmed.
At a certain moment, the Portuguese soldiers started disturbing
the dance. They intruded among the people v/ho were dancing, imitating
their movements, trying to ridicule them. The Mozambican who was leading the dance gave an order to stop. And, speaking to the Portuguese,
he asked thegi to let the people dance, and not to disturb them.   In
answer, one of the soldiers approached him, kicked him and insulted
him, saying that the whole people are bandits and that they all deserve
to be killed.
Our comrade did not let himself to be intimidated. He replied,
saying that those whom the Portuguese call "bandits" are the liberators of Mozambique. They are stronger and more noble than the Portuguese soldiers, who insult arrested people. Speaking directly to the
soldier who had kicked him, he said: "You have beaten me because you
are affraid. You are demoralised, because you saw many of your colleagues killed in yesterday1s ambush. I tell you that the day will come
when the Portuguese soldiers will be brought to trial by the people,
who are today enslaved by them". And, taking a stick, our Mozambican
brother beat that soldier»
When they saw this, the other Portuguese soldiers started beating
any Mozambican who was found near them. The people, encouraged by the
words of their leader, started fighting. The Portuguese called the
police of the post to arrest the Mozambicans involved In  the fight.
The policemen were Africans, in the service of the Portuguese. When
several Mozambicans had been arrested, some Portuguese soldiers ran to
them, angrily, and stabbed them with their knives in the sight of everybody, shoutings "Die, you nigger, die you nigger".
The police, composed of Africans, were shocked by these barbaric
crimes. And seeing their African brothers, whom  thoy    had arrested
and tied up, dying, fallen to the ground, covered with blood, they revolted. They turned the guns against the Portuguese soldiers and fired
at them. The Portuguese soldiers started running away, in panic, to the
post. Some of them fell, caught bj7 yhe fire of the African policemen.
When the troops of the post heard tho  shots, thoy marched to the
strategic hamlet. Then, the disorder grew. The African soldiers who
were in the Portuguese army joined tho African policemen and fired at
the Portuguese soldiers, who answered their fire. Thus in MUEDA, on the
26th of March I967, there was a great confusion and disorder, with many
killed, on the enemy side as well as on tho people's side. Many people
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