Tug of grief: Family, party and state clash over final farewell for Zambia’s Edgar Lungu

Tensions have erupted over the burial of Zambia’s former president Edgar Lungu, who died last week at the age of 68 while receiving treatment in a South African hospital.

While the Zambian government has reportedly planned a state funeral and chosen official mourning venues, Lungu's family and his party, the Patriotic Front (PF), are pushing back, insisting they be involved in the funeral arrangements.

According to the BBC, the Zambian government has proposed a state-owned Lusaka lodge as the official mourning venue, while the PF insists it should be held at the party's headquarters, directing mourners there.

The two sides are also clashing over the location of the official condolence book, with the government proposing the lodge and the PF insisting it be placed at their headquarters.

Mourning period

The mourning period has also brought confusion, with the government and PF issuing conflicting announcements, each declaring different start dates.

While Lungu's family has welcomed the proposed state funeral, reports indicate that it wants to dictate who will preside over it.

Further, the three sides have also butted heads over who should repatriate the deceased's body from South Africa with Lungu's family and the PF party wanting to handle the proceedings alone without the government's involvement.

"The state was saying, 'We are giving him full military honours, therefore we're taking over from here' - as if to say that 'you have no say over what happens,'" the family's lawyer, Makebi Zulu, said.

Uncertainty

Plans to repatriate Lungu's remains remain uncertain, although his family is now reportedly in discussions with the government to resolve the matter.

The resulting standoff has left mourners uncertain about where and how to pay their respects to the deceased.

Lungu, who served as the country's sixth president from 2015 to 2021, passed away on Thursday last week, but his exact cause of death remains unknown.

During his time in office, he oversaw constitutional reforms and presided over a period marked by economic turbulence, including a sharp decline in the value of the Zambian kwacha.

His administration was also noted for appointing Zambia's first female vice president, Inonge Wina.

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