137 Views Tonse PF-Pamodzi Alliance Presidential candidate Brian Mundubile has said he and his running mate Makebi Zulu will only proceed with the burial of former President Edgar Lungu if they win the August 13 elections. Speaking at a rally in Chinsali, Muchinga Province this afternoon, Mundubile told supporters that Lungu deserves to be laid […]

137 Views

Tonse PF-Pamodzi Alliance Presidential candidate Brian Mundubile has said he and his running mate Makebi Zulu will only proceed with the burial of former President Edgar Lungu if they win the August 13 elections.

Speaking at a rally in Chinsali, Muchinga Province this afternoon, Mundubile told supporters that Lungu deserves to be laid to rest with dignity and respect.

“What you must know is that our father Edgar Lungu has not yet been buried. What Makebi Zulu and I have agreed on is that when you vote for us and we win, we will honour late President Edgar Lungu and bury him with respect.

“Our father needs to be buried with respect,” Mundubile said.

Former Zambian President Lungu died on June 5, 2025, in Pretoria, South Africa, while receiving medical treatment.

He was 68.

His family confirmed the death, saying he had been ill for some time.

Lungu led Zambia from 2015 to 2021 after taking over following President Michael Sata’s death, and then winning the 2016 election.

He lost to Hakainde Hichilema in the 2021 polls and left office.

The circumstances around his burial immediately became a political and legal dispute between the Lungu family, the Patriotic Front, and the United Party for National Development government.

After Lungu’s death, the family said they wanted a private burial in South Africa, arguing that there was no trust between them and the state.

They cited unresolved tensions dating back to 2021, when the new government stripped Lungu of some retirement benefits, accused him of interfering in politics, and opened investigations linked to his time in office.

The state, for its part, said a former head of state was entitled to an official state funeral in Zambia, with full military honours and burial at Embassy Park in Lusaka, the site reserved for presidents.

The government obtained a court interdict to stop the burial in South Africa.

The family countered that an official funeral would be used for political purposes and that Lungu had expressed a wish to be buried privately. The standoff left Lungu’s body in a Pretoria mortuary for weeks, with no burial taking place.

The matter was heard in the Pretoria High Court in South Africa in July 2025. The court dismissed the Zambian government’s application to have Lungu’s body returned to Zambia for a state funeral.

Judge President Dunstan Mlambo ruled that the South African court had no jurisdiction to order the repatriation of a body against the wishes of the next of kin, and that the decision on burial arrangements rested with the family under South African law.

The judge also said the dispute was essentially political and not one that could be resolved by a foreign court imposing a state ceremony.

The ruling effectively meant the Zambian state could not compel a state burial. Following the judgment, the family maintained that burial would only proceed on terms they considered acceptable. As of mid-2026, Lungu had not been buried.

The issue has remained central to political debate ahead of the August 13, 2026 general election, with opposition leaders, including Tonse PF-Pamodzi candidate Brian Mundubile, saying they would ensure Lungu is buried with respect if they win power.

The case highlighted the intersection of customary family authority, constitutional provisions for former presidents, and the deep political divisions that persisted after Lungu left office.