Two Faces of a Nation on Display in Pretoria High Court

Two Faces of a Nation on Display in Pretoria High Court

By Farai Ruvanyathi,
11th August 2025

The judgment handed down by the Pretoria High Court, over the burial impasse of the late former President Edgar Lungu, and the reactions that followed, exposed two contrasting characters of our nation’s spirit and soul.

On one hand, we saw calm, dignity, respect, humility, and gratitude. This was personified by Zambia’s Attorney General, Mulilo Kabesha, who conducted a television interview with composure and thoughtfulness, reflecting on a legal victory for the Zambian government. On the other hand, we witnessed a stark contrast, haughtiness, entitlement, anger, and unrestrained hostility.

In a different corner of the same court auditorium, former President Edgar Lungu’s sister unleashed a torrent of insults and derogatory remarks, while howling and bawling, directed not only at the Attorney General, who was, in that moment, the face of the Zambian people, but also at his 104-year-old mother, Dyna. This outburst, filled with bitterness and unfiltered rage, played out live on international television.

For many viewers unfamiliar with the case, the spectacle could easily have been mistaken for a fictional soap opera. Unfortunately, it was all too real. The dignity of the nation’s institutions was being undermined, not in a courtroom drama series, but in a real-life international stage, under the global spotlight.

https://youtu.be/HSypMFEyPZA?si=6G7LsR4qLVKz9Klt

A Deeper Historical Context

South Africa is a large, economically significant country, but in the history of African liberation, Zambia remains its elder brother. Many senior South African leaders were raised, educated, or politically nurtured in Zambia under the protection and guidance of founding President, Kenneth Kaunda. The ANC was headquartered in Lusaka, and Nelson Mandela’s first international trip after his release from prison was to Zambia. These are not small facts; they are foundational to the bond between our nations.

Therefore, when Zambians behave with integrity and leadership, they reinforce their standing as moral leaders on the continent. But when their representatives, be they political or familial, engage in public displays of arrogance, entitlement, and slander, they diminish that respect. The conduct of the Lungu family and their legal representative, Makebi Zulu and the likes of Given Lubinda and Raphael Nakachinda, over the past two months in South Africa, has eroded some of the goodwill and historical admiration that Zambia has long enjoyed in the region.

The Morality Behind the Drama

It raises important moral questions for all Zambians:

What does it say about Zambian citizens when  they allow grief to manifest as hatred and national embarrassment?

At what point does personal loss justify the public humiliation of national institutions?

Should political vengeance override dignity, especially in a foreign land where Zambians are meant to uphold their national pride?

Is there any justification for hurling insults at an elderly mother who has no place in legal proceedings?

Whatever personal pain or political motivations may be at play, there is no honour in tarnishing Zambia’s image for the sake of scoring temporary emotional victories. The late President Edgar Lungu may be mourned by his family and followers and indeed many ordinary Zambians, but let that mourning not be turned into a spectacle of shame.

Leadership is tested not only in life, but in death, especially by how those left behind choose to honour the legacy of the deceased. If the Lungu family truly wishes to preserve dignity, they must rise above anger and reflect the values they claim to defend.

Let all citizens remember: Zambia’s name is bigger than any one individual or political party. And when Zambians step onto foreign soil, they carry the pride of an entire nation, their behaviour should reflect that responsibility.