LUNGU FAMILY MAY OPT FOR PRIVATE BURIAL TO ENSURE DIGNITY
…..Family says they will not trade respect for politics
The family of the late former Zambian president Edgar Chagwa Lungu is prepared to hold a private burial if that is the only way to guarantee him a dignified send-off, says the family’s legal counsel and spokesperson, Hon. Makebi Zulu.
Speaking on South Africa’s Newzroom Africa, Zulu criticised the Pretoria High Court’s ruling that ordered Lungu’s remains be handed over to the Zambian government for repatriation and a state funeral, saying it disregards the family’s rights and agreed concessions
“The family’s goal is simple a dignified send-off. That cannot be guaranteed if the very people accused of violating his rights in life are put in charge of his burial in death,” Zulu said.
Zulu accused the court of narrowing its focus to a “purported agreement” while ignoring broader constitutional principles, including the authority of the next of kin and the fact that Lungu died a private citizen after being stripped of his former head-of-state benefits by the Hichilema administration.
“You cannot strip him of medical care, security, and all benefits, then suddenly claim public interest in his death. The family, not the state, must decide how he is laid to rest,” Zulu argued.
While the Zambian government has maintained it has an obligation to conduct the funeral as a state event, Zulu countered that international precedents including Nelson Mandela’s funeral show that family wishes can take precedence over political considerations.
He said if the courts ultimately side with the state, the family is ready to bury Lungu privately in South Africa, limiting attendance to selected individuals and ensuring the process reflects the late president’s and his family’s wishes.
Zulu stressed that the family is willing to wait for the legal process to conclude, even if it delays the burial. “If it takes longer, so be it. What matters most is dignity, both for the family and for President Lungu. That dignity will not be traded for expedience or political theatre,” he said.
The case now heads to the South African Supreme Court of Appeal, which will determine whether a family’s right to a dignified funeral can outweigh a state’s claim to control the burial of a former head of state.
©️ KUMWESU | August 11, 2025
What is so undignified about a state funeral?
Zulu says: You cannot strip him of medical care, security, and all benefits, then suddenly claim public interest in his death.
These people have very selective and distorted memory. Lungu re-entered politics, headed a political alliance and declared he was running for office of the president. He continued to claim this even after the courts told him he had already served his term. The law is clear that you lose your benefits when you re-enter politics.
These lies they continue to tell about him being denied medical care. Where did he die? Not at Maina Soko but in South Africa.
The same man that threw HH in prison on baseless charges of treason and promised to jail him again if he had won the election. The family is lucky that they are dealing with someone like HH, who is not vengeful like Lungu.
But their arrogance, entitlement and lies have worn thin. We’re all tired of this nonsense. Get over yourselves and stay permanently in South Africa, but return the money you stole before you do.
Try to come to a mutual understanding rather
Then wasting time and money in courts.Is there
No leader who can convince both parties to let
Go some of their demands?
After all that has happened since the demise of the former president, Mr. Makebi Zulu can talk of dignity? All the dignity has been stripped away by the wranglers and delayed burial.
Whether Mr. Lungu is buried in Zambia or South Africa, it won’t matter. The dignity has been lost and all that remains is the formality of consigning him to his temporal or final resting place, depending on court’s decision.
This chap is just buying time and doing things for his in interest. He could even be scared if the long term consequences of the brew he has made. He can’t even drink it himself. He knows he has made a lot of enemies and after all this is done, he will remain alone to face the Zambians. Posterity will judge him harshly.
What has continued to bother me about this family is the conspicuous absence of elderly men in the whole saga. Manly wisdom is in serious scarcity in that camp. Hence the emergence of Why Mees in a foreign courtroom.
Well put…”why mees in a foriegn court room” and someone want to lecture us about dignity? Was the hurling of insults dignified? Instead people want to deflect and justify bad behavior.
Start behaving dignified instead of teaching how about dignity. An old woman behaving like a child who is having a temper tantrum? Kwilaba elo ugna tweba fya dignity?
Why are you so quick to go to the press over a non-concluded issue, is this about publicity or buying sympathy? anywhere your outlook has changed, you look better.
It is funny that the people of Zambia all heartedly some few years ago put Lungu on top there but now it looks like Lungu was already dignified before people put him as president. Now the family want him privately from away from the people who clothed Lungu. The money that the family is playing with today is as a result of the people of Zambia but now the family thinks it’s what they came with to the presidency. Eishi
Money can make someone behave like he is not learned. Up to now this Zulu is still talking about benefits of a former head of state in active politics! No wonder he lost the case. Just emotions and no analysis just because he wants to eat.
SA court may not even have jurisdiction over the former president’s case