CORRECTING THE NARRATIVE ON MY RELATIONSHIP, STATEMENTS OF CONCERN, AND MY COUNSEL REGARDING LATE PRESIDENT ECL- Dr Nevers Mumba

Dr Nevers S. Mumba writes….

Following my recent statements concerning the stand off on the burial of late President ECL, I decided to respond to a gentleman called Daniel Daka, whose inbox captured some questions and concerns that I have seen being repeated over and over in the comments section of the two statements.I hope this sheds some light.

CORRECTING THE NARRATIVE ON MY RELATIONSHIP, STATEMENTS OF CONCERN, AND MY COUNSEL REGARDING LATE PRESIDENT ECL.

Dear Daniel Daka,

I have read your message, and I must state, with respect but also with clarity, that the concerns you have raised are misplaced and not grounded in the true history of events in our country.

At no point did I dishonour the late President Edgar Chagwa Lungu, either in his lifetime or in his death. I did not persecute him, manipulate him, mock his family, or act with hypocrisy toward him. Those accusations are factually incorrect.

Let us speak plainly, as Zambians who value truth.

The public and recorded history is that, during President Lungu’s tenure, I was arrested, persecuted, and harassed by state institutions under his administration. These events are not opinions. They are part of Zambia’s recent political record. Despite this, I did not call for vengeance, violence, or hatred. I chose restraint and prayer.

In fact, I made a deliberate decision to treat separately the political persecution I suffered at the hands of President Lungu and his government, on the one hand, and my patriotic duty as a senior citizen, former Republican Vice President, and leader of a political party, on the other. Despite the pain I endured, I continued to honour my civic responsibility to counsel and to attend national events, national prayers, and national funerals. I did so consistently, regardless of who occupied the Office of President at any given time.

Unfortunately, there are some among you who have chosen to forget these facts, and who now maliciously misuse photographs taken at state functions where the former President and I were both present, to falsely suggest that I worked hand in hand with his government or personally benefited from his administration. This is untrue. Attendance at national events is not collaboration. It is a civic duty I have upheld throughout my public life, irrespective of personal relationships or political differences.

No

After President Lungu left office, I made several public interventions, as a former Vice President, party president, and pastor, addressing him directly and indirectly. These statements were not personal attacks, but warnings drawn from Zambia’s political history and my own experience leading the MMD.

I cautioned President Lungu against returning to active partisan politics, because Zambia has seen this pattern before.

Former Presidents who re-enter party politics often become centres of power struggles. Their parties experience factionalism, expulsions, court injunctions, and parallel leadership structures. Eventually, these parties become consumed by legal battles rather than national service.

This is exactly what happened to the MMD, a process that was aggressively accelerated during the PF’s time in government, with the involvement of collaborators and planted elements that weakened and ultimately fractured the party.

When I warned that the same fate would befall the PF if wisdom did not prevail, I was insulted, ridiculed, and attacked. My message was dismissed without serious engagement on its merit. Yet today, the PF is facing competing leadership claims, endless court processes, deep internal divisions, and paralysis as a political organisation.

These are not celebrations on my part. They are painful confirmations of a warning that was ignored.

As for the widow and the children of the late President, I have never insulted them, mocked them, or taken pleasure in their suffering. Zambian culture, Christian values, and my lifelong ministry forbid such conduct. To suggest otherwise is to bear false witness.

We must also be careful, as a nation, not to weaponise death to rewrite history or silence legitimate voices. Mourning demands sobriety, dignity, and truth.

Yes, God is the ultimate Judge, and because of that, we must speak truthfully, not emotionally or politically.

I stand by this. I opposed abuse of power, not a man’s humanity. I warned against political recklessness, based on lived experience. I spoke as a Zambian who has seen parties rise, fall, and destroy themselves from within.

Let us mourn with dignity. Let us disagree without distortion. And let us remember that truth does not become false because it is unpopular.

Finally, we continue to urge the two sides currently locked in this dispute to choose dialogue as the only constructive path forward, so that this impasse can be resolved and the late former President Edgar Chagwa Lungu can be laid to rest in his homeland, Zambia, with the dignity befitting his office and our nation.

May God comfort the bereaved, heal our politics, and grant wisdom to Zambia.

Dr Nevers Sekwila Mumba