Maputo — Daviz Simango, mayor of the central Mozambican city of Beira, made his boldest step yet in claiming the mantle of the leadership of the country's main opposition party, Renamo, when at the weekend he inaugurated a square and statue in Beira, in honour of the first Renamo commander, Andre Matsangaissa.

Simango was expelled from Renamo last month. He had refused to accept the decision by the Renamo leadership that he would not be the party's candidate for Beira in the 19 November municipal elections, and is running as an independent candidate.

The Renamo National Council had warned Simango not to use the Renamo name or symbols - but here, in the densely populated Beira suburb of Munhava, he was laying claim to the history of Renamo, and to the legacy of the man regarded by Renamo as its founder.

Renamo can hardly complain - the inauguration of the square was in line with a 2007 decision of the Beira municipal assembly, passed by the Renamo group against angry opposition from the Frelimo Party (which runs the country, but is in a minority in Beira). At that time nobody imagined that a gulf would open between Simango and the Renamo leadership.

Simango repeated the myth that Matsangaissa was "an intrepid man who fought for democracy in this country". In fact, he was recruited by the intelligence services of the Ian Smith regime in what was then Rhodesia, and put in charge of Renamo when it was no more than an irregular unit in the Rhodesian armed forces.

According to the report on the ceremony in Monday's issue of the independent paper "O Pais", Simango claimed that Mozambique "is today a free country because he, and many like him, gave up their youth to fight for a common good. Today we are proud to be Mozambicans because we are a free people and a democratic country. This homage is small for what he did for the country".

Renamo in Beira is split between supporters and opponents of Simango. Although they were invited to the ceremony, the leaders of the anti-Simango faction - Renamo Sofala provincial delegate Fernando Mbararano, the Beira city delegate, Faque Inacio, and Brigadier Lucas Machava - all boycotted it. Their excuse was that they were preparing the public presentation of the official Renamo candidate for mayor, Manuel Pereira. No date for this has yet been announced.

The statue in the square is not of Matsangaissa, but of a family group of a man, a woman and two children. Francisco Rocha, the Renamo provincial head of mobilization, said this symbolized "a family united because of democracy in Mozambique".

Matsangaissa died in an ill-advised attack on the town of Gorongosa on 17 October 1979. His body was never recovered. In the absence of any mortal remains of Matsangaissa, stones from the Gorongosa mountain range were incorporated into the statue.

Meanwhile, Renamo is pressing ahead with its attempt to have Simango sacked as mayor before his term of office expires. Renamo is using a clause in the 1997 local authority legislation which states that any elected holder of municipal office loses that office if, after the elections, he joins a party different from the one on whose ticket he was elected.

Simango was elected on the Renamo ticket in 2003. Now he is running against Renamo, backed by the independent Reflection and Change Group (GRM). So not only should he be kicked out of office, Renamo adds, but he should also be disqualified from standing this year too.

For the 1997 legislation also says that anyone who has been removed from office cannot be a candidate in future municipal elections.

The Renamo complaint has gone to the Ministry of State Administration. The Minister, Lucas Chomera, conformed receipt of the Renamo document, and told "O Pais" that he has notified Simango, giving him 30 days to present his defence. After that the matter will go to the full cabinet for its decision.

30 days after Chomera's notification is just a few days before the 19 November elections, and so realistically the cabinet will not be able to take its decision until after the new mayor and municipal assembly have been elected.