Mueda

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Mueda is the largest town of the Makonde Plateau in north eastern Mozambique and the capital of the Mueda District. It was founded around a Portuguese colonial army barracks.

The town was the site of the Massacre of Mueda on June 16, 1960, when Portuguese troops fired on a peaceful demonstration against high taxation and threw some demonstrators into a ravine. Resentment generated by these events led ultimately to the Mozambique War of Independence. The site of the massacre is marked by a statue.

Mueda is also the center of the culture of the Makondes, whose ebony sculptures are universally known.

Mueda is located on a high-plateau, the Planalto de Mueda, where the climate is excellent, but where, because of the permeable soil, water infiltrates with great depth, making it difficult to supply drinking water.

About 1970, Portugal realised a system of drinkable water supplies, under the direction of the engineer Canhoto. The work was completed ten years later by the Mozambican government, with the assistance of UNICEF and Swiss co-operation.