ZAMBIA’s former President Edgar Lungu, who died last week, left instructions that his successor Hakainde Hichilema “should not be anywhere near” his body, a family spokesman has said.
This is the latest development in the bitter feud over funeral plans for the late president following his death in South Africa at the age of 68.
The government had planned to fly his body back home on Wednesday, but failed to do so because of a dispute with Lungu’s family and his political party, the Patriotic Front (PF), over mourning and funeral arrangements.
The two leaders were long-standing political rivals, with Hichilema defeating Lungu in the 2021 election after failing in five previous attempts.
Lungu died of an undisclosed illness, but the PF said last week that he had been receiving “specialised treatment” in South Africa.
The PF alleged that Lungu was banned from leaving the country for years and that if he had been allowed to travel to seek medical treatment sooner, he might still be alive.
Zambia’s Foreign Minister Mulambo Haimbe was among government officials who flew to South Africa on Wednesday for talks with Lungu’s widow, Esther, and his influential daughter, Tasila, to break the deadlock over what happens next.
The government wants to give Lungu, who led Zambia from 2015 to 2021, a state funeral.
The Lungu family’s spokesman, lawyer Makebi Zulu, previously told the BBC that the family was not opposed to this, but it wanted a say over who would preside over the service.
However, in a video released from South Africa on Thursday, Mr Zulu said the family had put in place “all logistics” to fulfil Lungu’s wishes to be given a private funeral and that Hichelema “should not be anywhere near” his body.
The government was behaving as though the family had “no say” over his burial and the way he should be mourned, Mr Zulu added.
It was the family’s desire that the “conscience of the deceased should not be betrayed”, he said.
In his response, Haimbe said that while the bereaved family had put forward its wishes, Lungu’s funeral concerned all Zambians as he was a former president.
“I’m sure all of us would want to have a fitting send-off for our former president, and that is what we must work towards achieving,” the foreign minister told local journalists.
In an earlier statement, the government said that “constructive consultations” were continuing with Lungu’s family to ensure the “smooth repatriation” of his body.