from ARNOLD MULENGA in Lusaka, Zambia
Zambia Bureau
LUSAKA, (CAJ News) – AFTER a lengthy deadlock and intense negotiations featuring the government, the main opposition and the family of the deceased, former Zambian president, Edgar Lungu, can finally be laid to rest.
This ends the confusion and apprehension that has gripped the increasingly toxic country since Lungu, the sixth president and the last of the remaining heads of state, passed away in South Africa on June 5.
Aged 68, he was in the fellow Southern African nation seeking treatment for an undisclosed ailment but speculated to be esophageal achalasia.
A fallout between his family and the government of President Hakainde Hichilema at a time he was alive spilled into his demise and delayed the repatriation of his remains from South Africa and subsequently, the burial in Zambia.
The family claimed Lungu had demanded that his successor Hichilema should not preside over his funeral and that he not be buried at a national monument reserved for former Zambian heads of state.
Lungu was the sixth and the last remaining ex-president.
Sanity is prevailing at last after government officials, the deceased’s family and Lungu’s Patriotic Front (PF) reached a compromise on the repatriation and burial, following a meeting in South Africa.
Following the breakthrough, the late president’s remains will be flown back to Zambia on Wednesday (today, June 18) via a private charter.
The body will lie in state at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre from Thursday to Saturday (June 19 to 21) for public viewing.
A state funeral will take place on Sunday, presided over by Hichilema.
The national mourning period has been officially extended to nine days, from June 15.
Lungu will be buried on Monday at the Embassy Park monument where all other erstwhile presidents are interred. Regional leaders are set to attend the burial.
With the remains of Lungu imminent, Zambia is coming to terms with his demise.
The government announced, on the eve of the repatriation, that the receiving of his remains at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport was only by invitation.
Despite some apprehension having abated in recent days after PF and the Lungu family reached a compromise, differences among supporters remain.
Akashambatwa Masheke, widely regarded as a staunch ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) sympathiser, has been criticized for claiming the burial of Lungu would “mark the end of the Patriotic Front.”
PF was in power from 2011 to 2021. It degenerated into factionalism after its defeat but Lungu had bounced back to reunite it, making it the biggest threat to UPND in next year’s elections.
Thandiwe Ketis Ngoma, the government critic said, “President Lungu’s passing is a solemn moment for national unity, reflection, and reconciliation. It is not a stage for political opportunists to proclaim the demise of one of the country’s most influential opposition parties.”
On the eve of the repatriation of Lungu’s remains, the Zambia Police Service said it would boost deployment to maintain law and order throughout the mourning period.
“Acts of lawlessness, violence, or disorderly conduct will not be tolerated and will be met with firm legal action,” warned Rae Hamoonga, Police Public Relations Officer.
Opposition accused police of bias in favour of the ruling party and cracking down on opposition and government critics.
At the PF Headquarters, the atmosphere was solemn as party members awaited the remains.
“Slowly but surely, the party funeral is turning into an orderly dignified state funeral,” commentator Richard Kalenda, said.
UPND spokesman, Mark Simuuwe, on Tuesday led a delegation of the party’s media team to pay their respects at the official funeral venue, Belvedere Lodge in Lusaka.
“We are mortal human beings and all of us are headed to die,” he said.
“In times like this, culturally and as Zambians, we put differences and political opinions aside and come together for a just cause, to mourn the late President Lungu,” Simuuwe added.
– CAJ News