from ARNOLD MULENGA in Lusaka, Zambia
Zambia Bureau
LUSAKA, (CAJ News) – POLITICAL tensions are at an all time high in the increasingly polarised Zambia.
The government has called for unity and oneness after the death of former president, Edgar Chagwa Lungu.
Instead, the Southern African country is teetering on the brink of anarchy amid differences between his Patriotic Front (PF) and the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) of his predecessor, Hakainde Hichilema.
A divisive figure, he Lungu is haunting Zambia even at his demise, with violence gripping the country and a war of words between his PF and the ruling UPND.
Lungu (68) died in South Africa last Thursday. There are even wild allegations he was poisoned by the ruling party to bar him from contesting the next polls.
The death and his treatment by the current administration of former opposition leader and now president, Hakainde Hichilema, is a dilemma.
There has been a tug of war between the two parties over the funeral and burial of Zambia’s sixth president.
UPND has pledged a befitting sendoff for the ex-president but the toxicity suggests otherwise.
Hichilema has declared seven days of national mourning in honor of Lungu, starting this past Sunday until Saturday.
The UPND-led government and PF have clashed over the burial of the former head of state.
PF and the Lungu family demand a private burial but the government insists that he be laid to rest at the Presidential Burial Site, a national monument in Zambia.
Former presidents, Kenneth Kaunda, Frederick Chiluba, Levy Mwanawasa, Rupiah Banda and Michael Sata are buried there.
PF are resisting a state funeral for Lungu, alleging the UPND harassed him since his defeat in the 2021 elections.
This includes the courts barring Lungu contesting the 2026 elections, ruling that he had exhausted his term limit after he contested the 2015 and 2021 elections.
Some members of the Lungu family are under probe for alleged corruption amid allegations they amassed wealth improperly when he was in power, or when he was defence minister as PF was in power.
On Monday, police arrested 110 suspects for riotous behaviour in the Central province. While details are sketchy, it is believed the suspects are of the PF and resisting the control of the state over Lungu’s send-off.
Police confirmed incidents of looting.
“More arrests are expected as investigations continue,” said Rae Hamoonga, Zambia police spokesperson.
“The Zambia Police Service strongly condemns acts of lawlessness and wishes to remind members of the public that while grievances may arise, they must be addressed through lawful and peaceful means.”
Thus, the political atmosphere is charged, even before the late former president is repatriated from South Africa.
His remains are expected on Wednesday.
Jack Mwiimbu, Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security, has called for calm.
“This is not a time for discord, but for national reflection,” he said.
Mwiimbu appealed to citizens and political actors to refrain from making inflammatory statements or engaging in hate speech.
Inflammatory statements and hate speech emanate from allegations the current government is targeting the Lungu family and opponents to its rule.
At his death, Lungu had been stripped of presidential benefits after he came out of retirement and bounced back into politics.
Courts, said to be aligned to Hichilema, had ruled Lungu out of contesting the 2026 elections.
Obvious Mwaliteta, UPND Lusaka province chairperson, cautioned against alleged attempts by PF to “hijack” the funeral of Lungu for “political maneuvering.”
“What we are witnessing from some PF leaders is an attempt to reposition themselves for power under the guise of paying tribute to President Lungu,” Mwaliteta said.
He dismissed claims that the government had sidelined the PF in funeral arrangements.
“The funeral has been accorded with full honours as befits a former president. Any claims to the contrary are false, politically motivated, and meant to provoke national discontent,” Mwaliteta said.
– CAJ News