from ARNOLD MULENGA in Lusaka, Zambia
Zambia Bureau
LUSAKA, (CAJ News) – ZAMBIAN president, Hakainde Hichilema, has chosen to remain in the country because of the ongoing unresolved funeral matters surrounding the late former president, Edgar Lungu.
He has not travelled since Lungu died in South Africa on June 5.
On Wednesday, Hichilema hosted the United States Ambassador to Zambia, Michael Gonzales, at the State House.
“I have not been travelling outside and within the country because of the funeral we need to put to bed,” he said.
Hichilema said his absence from some national engagements arose from his “personal consciousness and respect for the dead.”
He pledged to promote national unity during this period of mourning.
Hichilema’s government and the Lungu family have differences over the handling of the funeral.
The family want a private ceremony while the government wish that he be buried at the Embassy Park Presidential Burial Site.
His family was about to bury him in South Africa but the Zambian government appealed to the South African courts to halt the process.
– CAJ News