Zambia's president demands proof his rival is dead

Times

11 hours ago

Weeks after the death of Zambia's former president, a long-standing, bitter rivalry with his successor rumbles on — as lawyers for the government demand proof that Edgar Lungu is actually dead.
Lungu, who was the southern African country's president for six years until 2021, was reported to have died, aged 68, on June 5.
His death shone a spotlight on the long-running feud with Hakainde Hichilema, his 63-year-old successor, who spent about 100 days in detention in 2017, when he faced treason charges as opposition leader.
Hichilema was at the time accused of endangering Lungu's life after his motorcade allegedly refused to give way to that of the president.
That stint in prison for Hichilema was not an isolated brush with the authorities under Lungu — he is said to have been arrested 15 times and his political supporters routinely harassed.
In the immediate aftermath of Lungu's death — reported to have been from complications after surgery at a South African hospital where he was being treated for an undisclosed illness a — row blew up in the capital, Lusaka, over plans for a state funeral.
It is understood that Lungu's family objected to the government's conditions for the body to lie in state, and as a result, decided to hold his funeral in South Africa.
The Zambian government was then said to have attempted to block that plan and imposed a state funeral. Meanwhile, sources in the country described the former president's body as 'languishing in limbo'.
And within the last few days, a letter from lawyers to Lungu's family has demanded access to the body.
In the letter, seen by The Times, government lawyers said they were formally requesting the family 'make the necessary arrangements for a representative of our client to attend at the funeral parlour where the body of the late President Lungu is currently being kept for the purposes of authenticating and identifying the body'.
The letter went on to attempt to reassure that 'the process will not cause any harm or prejudice to the family,' arguing that it was 'a necessary and respectful step to bring certainty to a matter of public and personal importance'.
However, the letter carried an explicit threat that officials would not countenance no for an answer. 'In the circumstances,' read the letter, 'a refusal or failure to provide the necessary consent will regrettably compel our client to question the bona fides of the family's position, and we will be left with no alternative but to approach the court for appropriate relief. We trust, however, that this will not be necessary.'
A Lungu family spokesman, Makebi Zulu, said that the government's 'vindictive interference' was a 'betrayal of basic human decency'.
'This shameful harassment of a grieving family shows complete disregard for their rights, causing immeasurable pain during this time of mourning,' he said.
'It is disgraceful that the government insists it is entitled to the former president's body whilst denying that same right to his family.
'Ordinary Zambians watching this disgraceful treatment must be appalled at how their government conducts itself.'
Lungu lost the 2021 presidential election by a landslide to Hichilema in what was seen as a devastating rebuke to the former president, who had presided over significant economic decline, soaring debt and allegations of corruption.
More than half of voters in Zambia are under the age of 34 and have virtually no economic prospects.
But instead of that election calming disquiet in the country, disillusionment with Hichilema's administration grew as Zambia's economy continued to stagnate.
As a result Lungu announced in 2023 that he was returning to the political fray — but in response, the authorities were said to have stripped him of retirement benefits.
Lungu and his family also alleged that they were victims of police harassment, and the former president complained last year that he was 'virtually under house arrest'.