DON’T CELEBRATE
It’s shameful for UPND to grab Lungu’s body from his family – Msoni
- Msoni has challenged Hichilema to respect the wishes of the family not to preside over the funeral of the former president
- These are the people who persecuted Lungu when he was still alive, and now they are celebrating his persecution into the grave.
By Mast Reporter
THERE is nothing to celebrate about the judgment ordering the repatriation of the remains of former president Edgar Lungu by government for burial in Zambia, Nason Msoni has said.
Commenting on the judgment delivered by the South African High Court in Pretoria yesterday, Msoni, the All People’s Congress (APC) president, said those celebrating the victory should take a back seat and introspect on the long-term implications of the State’s action.
He said what the United Party for National Development (UPND) and President Hakainde Hichilema, in particular, had done was grab a dead body from a grieving family using force.
The judge ordered Lungu’s family to hand over his body to the Zambian government for repatriation and burial through a state funeral.
“This is unheard of. What has happened is grabbing a dead body from a grieving family, and this calls for serious introspection on those scheming all this. This conduct will leave more pain on the country,” Msoni said.
He urged the Church to take its healing role, warning more divisions would be experienced if nothing was done to undo the damage government had done to the nation.
“I have seen on various UPND blogs the celebrations, the continued insults, mockery and all of the former first family. You can tell deep-rooted hatred and bitterness against the Lungu family from UPND. These are the people who have been pushing for the return of the remains of Lungu. These are the people who persecuted Lungu when he was still alive, and now they are celebrating his persecution into the grave. They have managed to grab a dead body using the courts, and they want to preside over a man they hated the most. This is shameful, it is embarrassing,” he said.
He said Lungu would go into the history of the country as the most hated and abused former president till his death.
Msoni has since challenged Hichilema to respect the wishes of the family not to preside over the funeral of the former president.
“Today is a dark day for the Lungu family and the people of Zambia who believed in peace, unity and norms. I wish to remind those in leadership that the scar they have exhumed and left behind will be difficult to manage or cure. No matter what happens, this is bleeding; the funeral of the Lungus has just begun. Their pain is too deep to ignore. I hope those around the President are advising him properly. He needs reflection, self-introspection. The country is bleeding,” Msoni said.
The court also ordered the South African Funeral Home, Two Mountains Limited, to surrender Lungu’s mortal remains to the Zambian government for repatriation and burial relegating the family t mere spectators.
This comes after two months of court battles, public tension and a suspended state of mourning.
