FAMILY, DIGNITY, AND THE LAW: INSIDE THE LEGAL BATTLE OVER EDGAR LUNGU’S FINAL RESTING PLACE

FAMILY, DIGNITY, AND THE LAW: INSIDE THE LEGAL BATTLE OVER EDGAR LUNGU’S FINAL RESTING PLACE

By Brian Matambo
_Reporting from Sandton, South Africa_

On Emmanuel Mwamba Verified, streamed live from South Africa and the United States of America to an audience of over 8,000 viewers, the Lungu family’s legal counsel, Makebi Zulu, laid bare what he described as the Zambian government’s disturbing overreach in the ongoing battle over the burial of former President Edgar Chagwa Lungu.

Zulu, citing official court filings, accused the State of pursuing a “game of entitlement” rather than seeking justice. He noted that the Zambian government had filed for three specific reliefs before the Gauteng High Court: exclusive rights to repatriate the body, the authority to take possession of the body from the South African funeral home without family involvement, and power to dictate who in the family may accompany the body under conditions it imposes.

“There is no prayer for specific performance,” Zulu stated bluntly, emphasizing that the State had not legally asked the court to enforce any agreement with the family. “They are playing rugby in a football match,” he added. “They want the court to bless a breach disguised as protocol.”

*A FUNERAL WITHOUT COMPASSION*
One of the most emotionally charged moments in the interview came when Ambassador Mwamba asked Zulu why the State has insisted on leading the burial despite the family’s objections. Zulu’s response was cutting: “If I were President Hichilema, the first thing I would have done is call the widow. If not me, at least send the First Lady.”

Yet as of today, President Hakainde Hichilema has not visited the Lungu funeral house. The First Lady, Mutinta Hichilema, has not reached out or even made a courtesy call to the former First Lady, Esther Lungu. Zulu argued that this lack of basic human decency underscores the government’s absence of genuine care. “Leadership requires empathy,” he said. “When even the bereaved are denied the dignity of a phone call, what else can we call it but cruelty?”

*LAW, CULTURE, AND CONTROL*
Zulu pushed back hard on the government’s assertion that the absence of a will gives them authority to determine burial arrangements. He pointed out that under South African law, where President Lungu died, burial decisions fall to the next of kin. The Attorney General, representing Zambia, even conceded this in open court—an admission that further weakens the State’s position.

“The State is trying to strip the family of dignity, disguise it as protocol, and then call it unity,” Zulu warned. “But unity cannot be forced. It must be offered with clean hands.”

*FORGIVENESS WEAPONIZED*
Zulu also took aim at the growing narrative that the family is unforgiving or unpatriotic. “Who asked for forgiveness?” he questioned. “The family has never made bitterness an issue. They have simply asked for respect.”

He called out the hypocrisy of government-aligned voices accusing the family of politicizing the moment while simultaneously using public broadcasters and online surrogates to smear the Lungu name. “You can’t ask for dialogue while you insult us on ZNBC and Facebook,” he said.

THE BIGGER QUESTION

As the nation awaits the Gauteng High Court’s ruling, Zulu’s remarks have left a lingering moral question: What does a dignified burial truly mean in a polarized Zambia?

“If the family believes President Hichilema’s presence would rob the funeral of dignity,” Zulu asked, “why insist on it?”

The live broadcast closed not with legal jargon, but with a plea—for empathy, for leadership, and for prayer. As the Lungu family lawyer put it, “Safety is not the absence of danger. It is the presence of God.”

Brian Matambo
_Reporting from Sandton, South Africa_