TRY PHIRI
LUSAKA, ZAMBIA
TKALABADIA@GMAIL.COM
TUESDAY, 5TH JUNE, 2025
To: Dr. Leon Schreiber
The Honorable Minister
Department of Home Affairs
Republic of South Africa
Private Bag X114
Pretoria, 0001
South Africa
Subject: Request to Review the Medical Admission of Zambian Politicians in Light of the Death of Former President Edgar Chagwa Lungu
Dear Honorable Minister,
I write to you with deep concern and sorrow over a matter that now extends beyond politics, it speaks to the heart of national dignity, accountability, and Pan-African responsibility.
As you may be aware, Zambia is currently experiencing serious political and social tension following the death of its Sixth Republican President, Mr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu, who was flown to South Africa for medical treatment and sadly passed away there. His sudden passing abroad, despite decades of political leadership and declared investment in Zambia’s health sector, has sparked not only national grief but also an avoidable political crisis.
The political party he led, the Patriotic Front (PF), is now using his death as a tool to advance political narratives against the current administration. The situation has become increasingly volatile, with PF leaders allegedly resisting the involvement of the state in the funeral and burial processes, contrary to Zambia’s constitutional and cultural expectations which require the state to play a central role in mourning and laying to rest a former head of state.
At the center of this national embarrassment lies a hard truth: Zambian politicians continue to seek medical care outside the very healthcare systems they claim to have built. If the healthcare infrastructure in Zambia was of the standard they portray, there would be no need for such high-profile medical evacuations to South Africa or elsewhere.
As a fellow African nation, South Africa has demonstrated leadership and medical excellence. However, we believe it is time for the South African government to review its open-door policy toward foreign political elites who abandon their countries’ hospitals but return only for funerals and politics.
This is not a plea for exclusion, but for accountability. We urge your government to consider the following:
Placing restrictions on non-emergency medical admissions for foreign politicians who hold office or have held public responsibility in countries where public healthcare is poorly maintained, in particular Zambia.
Promoting an Africa-first principle of leadership by example, where leaders must rely on the systems they claim to have built at home;
Encouraging regional conversations about healthcare investment, sovereignty, and leadership responsibility.
The painful irony of President Lungu’s passing in a foreign hospital, while his supporters now weaponize his death in a divisive national debate, should not be repeated. This is a moment for us as Africans to demand better leadership, stronger systems, and more unified standards.
We trust in South Africa’s continued leadership in promoting African dignity and self-reliance. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter of growing concern.
Yours faithfully,
TRY PHIRI
CONCERNED ZAMBIAN CITIZEN
Hi Try, when politicians or other patients are evacuated to South Africa, they don’t go to public hospitals. They go to expensive private clinics (also referred to as hospitals). It’s the same with the South African government leaders and high ranking government officials they don’t also go to public hospitals. They go to the same expensive private hospitals having run down the public hospitals. The government just inform South African government that they have a very important patent going to a named clinic.