Zambia's Former President Edgar Lungu Dies at 68
Former President Edgar Lungu of Zambia died on Thursday at a medical center in South Africa, where he was receiving treatment, his political party, the Patriotic Front, and his daughter announced. He was 68.
In a video posted on the party's Facebook page, Tasila Lungu Mwansa said her father 'had been under medical supervision in recent weeks.' She did not elaborate.
Mr. Lungu was the sixth president of his Southern African nation, holding office from 2015 to 2021, when he lost a race for re-election. His time in office was characterized by ambitious infrastructure spending, which ballooned the national debt, and fears of eroding political and press freedoms, as the government used emergency powers to control unrest.
After his 2021 election defeat by the current president, Hakainde Hichilema, Mr. Lungu retired, but he later attempted a political comeback as the leader and presidential candidate for an alliance that included the Patriotic Front.
In December last year, Zambia's Constitutional Court ruled that Mr. Lungu was ineligible to run for another term as president because he had already been elected to the office twice, despite the fact that his first election was for a partial term lasting just 19 months.
Some analysts said the ruling resulted from an abuse of power by Mr. Hichilema, who had removed from the high court three justices who had ruled against him in the past.
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