ABOUT THE PRETORIA ECL RULING & MY RECOMMENDATION
August 8th, 2025
We surely need a win win solution and as SC Sakwiba Sikota has put it, yesterday we ended up with a Lose-Lose outcome for the Nation.
My inbox is full from international friends some MPs laughing at us on what they calling an embarrassment on our Country. The Complainants and Defendants in the case are clearly way apart.
Here is my observation and recommendation. It seems to me the family is not so much concerned about where our former President will be buried but on Who should and should Not attend. Who should body view or Not body view.
Zambia as burial destination fell out when the family could not get guaranteed that would happen (non body viewing of one or some people) and felt secure if burial was in SA.
We know who they don’t want present and that is President HH. Why so has been said in the court documents and not for me or the reader to agree or disagree with. It’s their prerogative as the next of kin and close family members of the deceased. Such demands are not unusual in our Zambian and Africa funerals South Africa included. Mama Grace Mugabe insisted and got her husband buried at their farm and not Heroes park. Incumbent President did not attend funeral and Zimbabwe moved on. There as no insistance.
President HH should give in and pledge not to attend the funeral or view the body. I don’t think any foreign dignitaries like Heads of State are likely to attend given the circumstances. Even if they did; then the Vice President or any other senior Ministers like Foreign, Defense or trusted Home Affairs (Jack Mwiimbu) can represent him.
After burial and in consequent days; the President can go put flowers.
He would have achieved a Win because burial would have happened in Zambia at Heroes park as he and his supporters want while the Widow and family’s wishes of him not viewing the body would have been met aswell. A Win-Win for both sides away from the current Lose-Lose.
Free advise here otherwise we in for a long haul. Apeals can take even 7 months if not over a year. Then I am certain this judgement will be reversed. They have used the Zambian law on SA soils where all Laws support the next of kin and nothing about public interest. Which public interest here by the way? the UPND and their supporters? What about the PF / opposition alliances and their supporters ‘public interest’ which is currently more than them.
As long as ECL is not buried; our Country will remain on idling in more ways than one and the back stops with the President of the day who happens to be HH. Its Zambia being laughed at and in essence him being laughed at both within SADC and Africa as a whole. The jibes of amusement at us are both at Presidential and ordinary levels of Africa. Zambia twasebana.
Zikomo 🙏🏼
Miles Bwalya Sampa, MP
Laughing at “us” as nation?
Miles Sampa YOUR INBOX not mine or other Zambians are not full with email of that nature.
So get one straight Miles Sampa, they are laughing at you and those in the PF. Read the judgement it vilifies the state and shows the immaturity and iresponisbilty in you and those that supported this matter.
Deflection…..when one fails to take personal responisiblity and be held accountable for the wrong they they have done. They deflect. Shindine…..attitude.
Sindine attitude….meant to say.
There is no state funeral without a sitting president.You people you want to undermine the president.It can’t work Miles.HH can’t be pushed by a few bitter people who lost an election in 2021.Lets respect each other.
Hon Sampa, there is nobody who must be segregated on a funeral which is a national or state funeral.The Vice President or Ministers are part of government and work with the President, the Secretary to Cabinet works with government and if any thing that is government itself, the civil service starts from there.The blame game is fake and must not be entertained at all.You can’t single out one person and say he must not attend a funeral.That is childish thinking.Let me tell you the truth, we are waiting for the body and the program won’t be different from the usual one.The way all funerals of Presidents were handled is just the same.You can’t paint a person as bad and evil when in fact not.If your suggestion is allowed it will appear as though we have agreed to the fake narrative as a country.You will start using that in your campaigns.How do you hate someone with such passion.A government system can’t bend to jokers.This is a true government of the people by the people not shambolic thinking with no direction.The UPND government has a well dignified and organized system of state management whose arrows are clearly showing in terms of direction of responsibility and authority.One can not just dream and come up with abnormal thinking of how a state function must run.You want foreign diginatories to come and wonder on this funeral.And we ask all those who will be at the funeral to conduct themselves accordingly.We witnessed a funeral at Memorial park a few months ago where some people became commentators as if it is in football.On President Lungu this must not be allowed we must mourn with dignity to appreciate the office he held.He was our President and he must be put to rest with that kind of respect with dignity.The President shall have to preside to make the send off ceremony colorful and complete.
Your spirit was to contribute on resolving this matter but you have fallen far short of it. You have actually spoken like not a middle man but a biased PF cadre. Why should HH not attend? This family position is very divisive. If they don’t recognise HH as head of state, should that be the basis to follow their wish? And where is that failure to recognise HH as head of state steaming from? Just bcos HH defeated Lungu in 2021? Come on how can that be upheld by any well meaning Zambian? It doesn’t hold water, no. So HH beat them in 2021 and stopped them from looting or benefiting from public resources, is this the reason we shud agree that HH does not attend the funeral? The HH govt is anchored on the rule of law, and on the premises that you break the law, you are on your own. The Lungu family is now on their own, and law is pursuing them, so is that a reason the nation to agree with them that HH should not attend the state funeral?
This Lungu family did not want HH to be president, wanted him dead long b4 2021, even vowed to return him to prison after Lungu returned power to himself, they hate HH like no man’s business, so should the nation agree with the Lungu family choices which are clearly based on HATRED? No ways. And if you Miles Sampa are not with the Lungus in wishing HH dead b4 2021, in hating HH like no man’s business, then you have to RESUBMIT your post, this one has lamentably failed. We the entire nation, including even majority PF, will not agree with to lame, misplaced wishes of the Lungu family NO.
What a reasonable way to say things, eishi, thumbs up to you.
Since this fight is clearly political and nothing to do with deceased family & general public as the two parties in PF & UPND are trying to portray, I would suggest that we allow them to go on fighting up to the final SA court of appeal so that they can satisfy their egos.
Once they reach the end of the road and they need us on a serious note, will be there by God’s grace to offer objective guidance.
The matter was taken to Court which delivered a JUDGMENT whether one likes it or not. So, the time for blame game is over. And there is a pending application for leave to appeal. What Miles Sampa is recommending is skewed opinion, that the Appellants will succeed because South African applies. Please read the JUDGMENT.
MBS, I think your recommendation is not Sincere and your Mugabe example is not valid for this situation. Mugabe was the first former president of zimbabwe to die. So there was no precedence to follow. Zambia has created a culture and that’s the culture that government has to adhere to and preserve on behalf of the people of Zambia. The sitting president only happens to be the one presiding over the affairs of nation at the moment and he has a duty, obligation and the responsibility of officiating all state functions. This funeral is just one of those state functions. I don’t think he has any personal benefits of seeing a corpse. Personal hatred against the president is what is causing the grieving family to complicate a simple matter. Politicians like you should help the family distinguish between family matters and political matters. If the issue is about not allowing the president to see the body then why is it that even you as former PF president have not seen the body?
Yes,Edgar Changes Lungu voluntarily engaged himself in a dangerous high-stakes game of Russian Roulette.Unfortunately,the round was in the exact chamber that he fired Now the Lungu family doesn’t want to accept that he lost fair and square.They insult anyone near HH.They are behaving like Ba Nkana who can vandalize an entire CAF recognized stadium after loosing a game
It could equally have been HH that lost and HH today, would have been languishing in prison by orders of President Lungu.Chiwamina galu?
Chiwamina galu kuluma mbuzi, osati mbuzi kuluma galu! This weird, obnoxious PF camp is such a disgrace to Zambia. I am glad we ferociously chased them away in 2021, never again to let their stinky, corrupt garments anywhere near power. We can’t wait to put closure to this wanton distraction. We have more important, pressing matters in the nation to spend our energies on than these ‘recommendations’ that are miles away from sense.
Recommendations too empty. Mugabe did not lose an Election but was forcibly removed in an embarrassing manner. Edgar lost an Election but handed power willingly. UPND is Government of laws not lawless. Justice will prevail.
Miles Sampa is simply exhibiting foolishness. No one should listen to him. The government is on the right track and there’s no ” ukusebana” here. The AG and government has performed well . They have appealed, fine, let the process move on and eventually final results will show.
Ruth mbandu with his rotten thinking anyway it is never torelate you can witchdoctors to heal you SAMPA from the ghost which is troubling you. PF criminals hate us majority Zambian who voted you out from the government.Davil party is PF party full of bitterness, jealous and hatrages toward HH.All PF party panyo Panu.