Why is there this continuing obsession over Lungu’s body even after the court case ended?
By Sishuwa Sishuwa
The burial of Edgar Lungu is a matter for the family to decide as they wish. The Lungu family can bury the late former president quietly in any country (assuming they have not done so already), cremate him (assuming they have not done so already), decide to bury him in any country after the August election, or choose not to bury him at all.
The Lungu family can even take time to audit the body to establish if all the parts are still intact or if some were stolen when, for instance, representatives of the Zambian government grabbed the body from the South African morgue where it was kept, and without the consent and knowledge of the family, on the false premise that the matter in the Supreme Court of Appeal had lapsed. Should they choose to take this route and it is discovered that some body parts are missing, then it is only appropriate that those responsible should be held to account and face justice. Whatever the family decides to do, it is entirely their prerogative.
Following the well reasoned judgement of the Supreme Court of Appeal and the decision by the Zambian government to forego their interest in the case by not appealing against the verdict, the rest of us have no business in this matter. Since the judgement, I have seen three strategies employed by supporters of Hichilema that demonstrate a curious obsession with Lungu’s burial.
The first are calls from some compromised religious figures that there should be discussion between the family and the government aimed at resolving the dispute so that the body can be taken to Zambia for burial. These calls are misguided because there is no longer any dispute between the two parties to warrant discussions. The dispute that existed between the government and the family has since been resolved, decisively, by the courts. In other words, the government dragged the family to court to prevent them from burying their loved one as they wished and the family has won the case. This outcome means the family can now proceed as they had originally wished.
The second strategy is enticing the family to consider taking the body to Zambia for a private burial on the promise that the government will not interfere with the funeral arrangements. Given that this is a government of liars, the family is unlikely to fall for this bait.
The third strategy is enticing the family to take the body to Zambia using the threat that some anti-immigrant groups in South Africa might undermine the funeral, if it is held there, or destroy the grave of the former president if he is buried there. This too is misguided because, as I said, the family can decide to (quietly) bury in any country, to cremate the body, or to wait until after the election before deciding what to do next.
May we, all of us, give maximum space to the family to do whatever they think is appropriate. The anguish of the last 12 months must have been too much for them to bear. While many of us simply moved on with our lives, the grieving family had to contend with the pain of both losing a loved one and being prevented, for over a year, from burying the deceased by the cruel actions of those who moved to block the funeral when it was underway, even when those who did so knew from the beginning that they had no lawful basis for taking this action.
Like many people, I repeatedly advised Hichilema to do the right thing as shown in this August 2025 article.
https://mg.co.za/thought-leader/2025-08-22-zambia-missed-opportunities-in-the-feud-over-edgar-lungu-s-burial/
The following month, in September 2025, I made it clear, following a television interview with Newzroom Afrika, that “Outside the legal process, the dispute over Lungu’s burial will only end when Hichilema pledges that he will stay away from the funeral, as per Lungu’s wishes. As I stated in this interview, talks between the family and the Govt are likely to fail over this sticky issue.”
https://x.com/ssishuwa/status/1965085488911646926?s=20
Hichilema did not listen. The only language he understands is defeat, decisive defeat.
