WHAT IS PRESIDENT HICHILEMA LOSING BY RESPECTING HIS PREDECESSOR’S WISHES?- Thandiwe Ketiš Ngoma

WHAT IS PRESIDENT HICHILEMA LOSING BY RESPECTING HIS PREDECESSOR’S WISHES?

By Thandiwe Ketiš Ngoma

The controversy surrounding the burial of Zambia’s Sixth Republican President, Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu, has exposed a troubling and unnecessary standoff. It raises a fundamental question that the nation can no longer avoid: what exactly is President Hakainde Hichilema so determined to gain by presiding over his predecessor’s funeral at all costs?

The UPND government continues to justify this insistence by repeatedly invoking the phrase “state funeral.” Yet this argument collapses under even the lightest legal and procedural scrutiny.

There is no law, whether constitutional, statutory, or customary, that requires a sitting President to personally preside over a state funeral. There is none.

Protocol is unambiguous. The Head of State may delegate representation. This is standard practice in Zambia and across the world. State funerals are conducted in honour of the office and the nation, not as a mechanism for enforcing the physical presence of a sitting President, particularly where that presence has been expressly rejected.

If a state funeral can lawfully proceed without President Hichilema, then the question becomes unavoidable. Why is he insisting on presiding over it despite being clearly, formally, and repeatedly informed that his presence is unwelcome?

Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu left explicit and unequivocal instructions regarding his burial. He stated clearly and without ambiguity that his successor, President Hakainde Hichilema, should neither preside over his funeral nor be anywhere near his remains. These were not rumours, political gossip, or afterthoughts. They were formally communicated to the Government of the Republic of Zambia.

Yet, in defiance of these wishes, President Hichilema, acting through Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha, has chosen not only to override the expressed will of the deceased but also to drag a grieving family to court, effectively holding their loved one hostage and preventing burial.

Let us be clear. This is no longer about protocol.
It is about power.

One must ask plainly and without fear: what is in the body of Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu that President Hichilema insists on presiding over it come rain or sunshine?

Is there something supernatural?
Is there something symbolic?
Or is this simply an exercise in dominance so extreme that it defies logic, law, and decency?

For over eight months, the remains of a former President of the Republic of Zambia have been left in a morgue in a foreign country, not because burial was legally impossible, but because of political stubbornness. This fact alone should trouble the conscience of every Zambian.

The Lungu family has acted lawfully, respectfully, and strictly in line with the wishes of the deceased. Yet the state, led by President Hichilema, has chosen coercion over compassion and litigation over restraint.

Respect for the dead begins with respect for their wishes. Anything short of that is not honour. It is authority masquerading as protocol.

President Hichilema must confront a simple and honest question: what does he actually lose by delegating this duty?

The answer is obvious.
He loses nothing.

The state funeral would still take place.
The dignity of the presidency would remain intact.
The nation would still mourn.
And a family would finally be allowed to bury their loved one in peace.

Instead, this relentless insistence on personal involvement has fueled public suspicion, deepened national division, and invited questions that need never have been asked.

In a country that claims to value humanity, family, and tradition, the right course of action is glaringly clear.

Step back.
Respect the wishes of the deceased.
Allow the family to bury their loved one now.