[2] In about 1970, Portugal, the ruling authority of Mozambique at the time, built a system to supply drinkable water, under the direction of the engineer Canhoto.

In the 1980s, after the independence of Mozambique from Portugal, the system was rebuilt by the Mozambican government, with the assistance of UNICEF and Swiss co-operation.

[6] The Portuguese administrator ordered his pre-assembled troops to fire on the crowd,[7] after which many more were thrown to their death into a ravine.

[8] However, resentment generated by these events ultimately led to the independentist guerrilla organization FRELIMO gaining needed momentum at the outset of the Mozambican War of Independence (1964–1975).

In 1967, in one of its first major military actions, FRELIMO launched an abortive attack against the airbase there,[10] although the base was seriously damaged.