A Pastoral Counsel to the President on the Burial of Our Late 6th President
Inspired by Luke 6:43-44 and James 3:12
Mr. President Hakainde Hichilema,
The Word of God speaks plainly to us all: “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit.” *Luke 6:43-44.* Again, the Apostle James asks, “Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs?” *James 3:12.*
Scripture does not tell us to know our brothers by their words, Mr. President. It tells us to know them by their fruits, by their actions.
It is in this spirit that I must speak to you concerning the burial of our late 6th President, Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu. Your recent interview in Kitwe, on Radio Icengelo, left many of the faithful with heavy hearts. The questions that were raised about the burial of ECL’s remains were not answered. Instead, blame was placed upon the former First Family.
My President, we cannot shift blame where responsibility calls. Zambians remember well the agreement that was made between your Government and the Lungu family. There were conditions attached to that agreement, conditions meant to ensure dignity, peace, and unity during the send off of Mr. Lungu. Yet that agreement was broken.
Let us not distract our people. Let us return to that first agreement, for it is there that truth resides. As long as these matters are not addressed from that point, Mr. President, the wound in this nation will remain open.
You have said you do not believe in witchcraft. This is well and good. But Scripture teaches us that faith without works is dead. If you reject witchcraft, then let your actions show it. The hunger to be present and to preside over ECL’s funeral has now gone beyond what many consider proper. Our people are beginning to ask: Is this for national interest, or for the interest of a few?
In our Zambian context, and indeed in the wider African understanding, the taking of a body without the family’s blessing, and the conducting of a private postmortem, is not a matter to be spoken of lightly. *Our people have a name for such acts. They call it witchcraft.* The actions surrounding the body of our former President cannot be described in gentler terms by those who mourn.
Therefore, my President, do not come to your own defence in this matter. The path to healing is not through argument, but through action. *Return to the agreement. Honour the family. Bury our 6th President with the dignity befitting his office and the peace befitting our nation.
For by your fruits, Mr. President, the people will know you. May God grant you the wisdom to bear good fruit in this hour.
By Fr. Martin Mwango