The Bill for Edgar Lungu’s Mortuary Is Now Coming to You. The Zambian Taxpayer.
Opinion | UKANI
The Pretoria High Court has ordered the Zambian government to pay for a private mortuary in Pretoria East to store Edgar Lungu’s body while the legal battle continues. The mortuary is AVBOB Pretoria East. The bill goes to Zambia. Your money.
When UKANI published an earlier post on this matter the comments section was divided. Many Zambians pushed back strongly, defending the government’s position. A common argument was that the Lungu family had done exactly the same thing when former President Kenneth Kaunda died in 2021. That during Kaunda’s burial the Lungu government intervened, took the matter to court, and overrode the family’s wishes in favour of a state funeral. The Kaunda family was not given much choice in the matter either.
UKANI hears that argument. It is valid. It happened. And it was wrong.
But two wrongs have never made a right. The fact that the Lungu government did it to the Kaunda family does not make it acceptable for any government to do it again. If anything it should have been a lesson. Instead it has become a precedent. And Zambia now has a pattern of governments fighting over the bodies of former leaders in court while ordinary citizens pay the bill.
And the bill keeps growing.
Nearly a year of South African lawyers billing in rands. Flights to Pretoria. Hotel accommodation. Court appearances. Allowances. All paid for by the Zambian taxpayer. And now on top of everything else a mortuary bill at AVBOB Pretoria East for however long the Supreme Court of Appeal takes to make its final determination. Nobody knows how long that will be.
UKANI is asking one simple question. How much has this cost so far?
Every flight. Every hotel. Every lawyer invoice. Every court filing fee. Every mortuary payment from day one until today. This government has spoken repeatedly about transparency and accountability. Here is an opportunity to demonstrate exactly that. Publish the number. Itemised. Clearly. Let the Zambian people see what this fight has cost them.
Because here is what that money could have done instead.
Go to any government hospital in Zambia today. Ask about the X-ray machine. In many facilities it is either broken or the queue is so long you will wait months for a single scan. One machine serving thousands of patients. The cost to fix or replace that machine is nothing compared to what a single hour with a South African legal team costs this government.
For Zambians who can afford private healthcare this reality is easy to miss. But UKANI speaks for everyone. Including the person who cannot afford to buy Panadol. That is not dramatic. That is someone’s reality in this country right now. Walk into a government hospital. Sit with the patients. Listen to what they tell you about what is available and what is not. It will send a shiver down your spine.
There is no dignity in a mortuary bill in Pretoria while Zambian hospitals cannot stock basic medicine. Dignity is not a court appearance in a foreign country. Dignity is medicine on the shelf. Dignity is an X-ray machine that works today not in three months when the queue finally reaches you.
The Zambian people have moved on from this. They are not lying awake over Edgar Lungu’s burial. They are lying awake over things that actually affect their daily lives. This fight has no value to ordinary Zambians. None. Edgar Lungu is gone. No court order changes that. No mortuary bill in Pretoria East improves a single Zambian life.
Publish the number. Let Zambia decide if it was worth it.
The person who cannot afford Panadol is still waiting for an answer.