Even in death, Edgar Lungu is defying his successor.
The former Zambian president, who died earlier this month, will be buried not in the land he once led but in neighbouring South Africa – a decision his family says was made to avoid a state funeral orchestrated by President Hakainde Hichilema’s administration.
Instead, Lungu will be laid to rest in a private ceremony, becoming the first foreign head of state to be interred on South African soil.
In a statement late Friday on behalf of the family, Lungu’s lawyer Makebi Zulu said the decision to bury him in South Africa was “in accordance with the family’s wishes for a private ceremony.”
“We would especially like to extend our sincere appreciation to the Government of the Republic of South Africa for their respectful support and for honouring the family’s decision to hold a private funeral and burial here in South Africa,” Zulu said.
The surprise announcement has sent shockwaves through Zambia where the government had been preparing a state funeral with full honours.
It also marks a poignant – and deeply political – final rupture in one of Zambia’s most bitter modern rivalries.
The enmity between Lungu and Hichilema runs deep.
Their relationship was shaped by power struggles, personal animosity and accusations that long outlived their electoral battles.
Lungu defeated Hichilema in a hotly contested 2016 election, a race marred by allegations of irregularities.
The following year, Hichilema was arrested and jailed for four months on treason charges after allegedly refusing to give way to Lungu’s motorcade – a symbolic flashpoint in their feud. The two men never reconciled.
In 2021, Hichilema reversed their political fortunes with a landslide victory but the hostility endured.
Even out of office, Lungu remained a vocal critic of the new administration, accusing it of surveillance, harassment and curtailing his movements.
His family later claimed the government initially obstructed his medical evacuation to South Africa – a charge the government firmly denied.
When Lungu died, both Lusaka and Pretoria appeared to have coordinated in honouring the former leader.
South Africa readied full military honours, and Zambia extended its official mourning period by nine days.
But on Wednesday, just days before the planned state funeral that was scheduled for 22 June, the Lungu family abruptly announced it would not release his body to the Zambian state.
Caught off guard, Hichilema responded with a national address on Thursday, ending the official mourning period and apologising to South Africa for what he called a diplomatic embarrassment.
“Our country cannot afford a state of indefinite mourning,” he said, urging citizens to “return to normalcy” while expressing hope for continued dialogue with the family.
The fact that the burial would now take place privately in South Africa is widely seen as a final act of defiance against a government the family accuses of dishonouring Lungu in life.
The standoff has sparked a wave of public debate in Zambia, with some viewing the family’s decision as an assertion of dignity while others lament the breakdown of national unity at a time of mourning.
For many, the saga has thrown a spotlight on the unresolved tensions in Zambian politics and the personal cost of political warfare.
As Lungu’s body remains in South Africa, so too does the legacy of a rivalry that refuses to rest.
JN/APA