WHEN GRIEF BECOMES A STAGE: EXPOSING THE POLITICAL MACHINATIONS BEHIND THE LUNGU BURIAL IMPASSE
By Chilufya Kasonde
BLOEMFONTEIN – Yesterday, from the hallowed halls of the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein, South Africa, solemn mission unfolded. Alongside former Minister Richard Musukwa and former DMMU National Coordinator Chanda Kabwe, we took another legal step not for power, but for the simplest of human dignities: a respectful funeral for the late former President, Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu.
Yet, even as we pursue this noble cause in a foreign court, a darker, more cynical drama is playing out back home. It is a drama orchestrated by Mr. Makebi Zulu and his surrogates, who have hijacked the negotiation process between the Government and the Lungu family.
Let us call this what it is. Mr. Zulu does not care about the remains of the former President. He does not lose sleep over the emotional torment of the Lungu family. What he sees when he looks at this tragic impasse is a ladder.
His goal is nakedly political expediency. Mr. Zulu hopes to use the dead to defeat the living. He has calculated that by prolonging the burial dispute and turning it into a theatrical crisis, he can erode support for President Hakainde Hichilema. He genuinely believes that Zambians are so shallow in their reasoning that they will vote out a sitting government simply because of a manufactured burial stalemate.
This is not statesmanship; it is ghoul politics.
Every day that Mr. Zulu injects poison into the negotiations, he proves that his loyalty is not to the legacy of Dr. Lungu, but to his own ambitions. He is willing to keep a former Head of State in a state of limbo if it means he can harvest political capital from the controversy. He wants to be seen as the kingmaker, the gatekeeper of grief, the man who stood up to the State.
But Zambia is watching. We see the difference between those who genuinely seek a solution, who travel to foreign courts to find a legal pathway to peace, and those who simply want a platform.
The truth is now obvious. Those who do not mean well for Zambia have been exposed. They are the ones turning a funeral into a referendum. They are the ones exploiting a family’s pain for a few extra votes in 2026.
To the Lungu family, we offer our deepest condolences. To Mr. Makebi Zulu, we offer a warning: Zambians are tired of those who fish in troubled waters. Let the man rest. Let the family mourn. Stop using Dr. Lungu’s name as a shield for your own selfish ambition.
The dignity of a former President is not a bargaining chip. And thankfully, the people of Zambia know a political opportunist when they see one.