from ARNOLD MULENGA in Lusaka, Zambia
Zambia Bureau
LUSAKA, (CAJ News) – AS the deadlock over the burial of former Zambian president, Edgar Lungu, rages on, a critic has urged the government to withdraw its legal challenge against the deceased’s family.
Lungu, the sixth president, died in South Africa in early June, when he was seeking treatment for an esophageal disorder, reportedly.
He was 68.
The body of the deceased remains in South Africa due to the significant legal and family dispute featuring the family and the Zambian government over his burial.
Amid the festive season, it appears the year 2025 will end without a resolution to the crisis, which is playing out in the South African courts.
Thandiwe Ketiš Ngoma, one of the fiercest critics of the Zambian president, Hakainde Hichelema, has appealed to the government to withdraw its legal challenge, which would pave way for the repatriation of Lungu’s remains and burial.
“True power is shown not in insistence, but in knowing when to step back,” she stated.
Addressing Hichilema, Ngoma said, “I therefore urge you, respectfully and earnestly, to respect the family’s wishes, to withdraw the legal action that continues to delay burial, and to allow the late President Edgar Chagwa Lungu to be laid to rest with dignity and peace, in line with international human rights standards and Zambia’s own cultural and legal traditions.”
The deadlock emanates from the family making it public that the late president did not want his successor, Hichilema, to preside over his funeral or be anywhere near his remains.
The Lungus, amid the deadlock, intended to bury him in South Africa but the government challenged that in South African courts.
The government wants him buried in a shrine dedicated to all former presidents.
Hichilema and Lungu were staunch political rivals.
Lungu was president from 2021 to 2026, when Hichilema defeated him.
As an opposition leader, Hichilema had a spell in detention for defying the Lungu administration.
– CAJ News