Zambia: Burying Edgar Lungu in South Africa denies Zambians the chance to pay their last respects
The body of former Zambian president Edgar Chagwa Lungu remains in South Africa amid a court wrangle.
Image: File
The government of the Republic of Zambia says it will abide by the ruling of South African courts in the tense standoff over the burial of the mortal remains of the country's former president, Edgar Chagwa Lungu.
One of Africa's deepest episodes of political rivalry and animosity is playing out before South African courts, with Lungu's family saying one of the former president's dying wishes was that his successor and political nemesis, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, should not go anywhere near his body.
However, state funeral arrangements made in Zambia, in anticipation of receiving the former president's mortal remains in Lilongwe, had Hichilema at the center, as the commander-in-chief of the Zambian Defence Forces. The Zambian government had planned State funeral arrangements in Zambia, in anticipation of receiving the former president's mortal remains in Lilongwe, with Hichilema at the center of the ceremony.
Earlier this week, IOL reported that the High Court in Pretoria had unexpectedly halted plans by the family to bury the former president in South Africa. The court ruling was delivered just moments before a private ceremony was set to commence on Wednesday. The court ruled that a full hearing on the merits of the case will take place on 4 August.
The Pretoria court's decision marked another development in the ongoing heated dispute between Lungu's family and the Zambian government over the former head of State's final resting place.
Lungu, who led Zambia from 2015 to 2021, died earlier this month in South Africa, where he was receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness. He was 68.
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Lungu's family insisted on being part of the funeral arrangements, including the repatriation of Lungu's body to Zambia from South Africa. However, the Zambian government sought full control of Lungu's funeral arrangements. Feeling excluded from the funeral arrangements, Lungu's family began to shift their plans towards a burial in South Africa, igniting a bitter confrontation with the Zambian government led by Hichilema.
On Thursday night, Zambia's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mulambo Haimbe, told broadcaster Newzroom Afrika that the impasse between the family of Lungu and the Zambian government must be resolved. Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel.
'I think we need to be very clear on what the intention of government is. It is not necessarily that we want to stop this process (of burying Lungu in South Africa). We need to have the impasse, the standoff resolved, one way or the other. One of those ways is through a court of competent jurisdiction, which is what has been done now,' said Haimbe.
He said given the impasse, a neutral arbiter can reflect on the contentions and determine what the outcome ought to be.
'In the event that the court then says that the law and the positions put forward by the party are such that the burial should take place in Zambia, it should be respected by all stakeholders. Likewise, if the court arrives at a decision that South Africa would be the burial place, then we would have discharged our duty to the people of Zambia who want us to ensure that all these matters are dealt with.'
'We as the government of Zambia will respect the decision of the court,' he said.
Haimbe said if the burial is done in South Africa, foreign dignitaries who would like to attend the ceremony and pay their last respect would be denied the opportunity.
'It is not a matter of the interests of President Hakainde Hichilema as has been posited by some of our colleagues out there, nor is it a matter only of government as an institution, but the wider interests of the people of the Republic of Zambia, and there are also many practical aspects to it.
'Will the majority of Zambians be able to pay their last respects to their former president in the event that he is buried in the wonderful country of South Africa? Obviously, that is not going to be possible,' he said.
Hichilema, commonly known as HH, convincingly defeated Lungu in the 2021 elections, winning by a landslide of over a million votes. The tightly-contested polls were Hichilema's sixth attempt at winning the presidency in Lusaka.
Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema.
Image: File Photo: AFP
Before occupying the State House of Zambia, in 2017, Hichilema was arrested and spent around 100 days in prison fighting charges of 'treason' after his convoy did not give way to Lungu's presidential motorcade.
Hichilema, who was at the time an opposition leader, was also accused of plotting to overthrow the government, and putting then president Lungu's life at risk.
Amid international outcry and protests, the charges were later dropped and Hichilema was released from prison in August 2017 in an apparent deal negotiated by the Commonwealth.
The rivalry has continued to escalate after Hichilema took power, with Lungu accusing his successor of targeting him and in effect placing him under house arrest.
When Lungu lost the presidency to Hichilema in 2021, he announced his retirement from active politics. However, in 2023, in a dramatic move, Lungu announced that he was returning to active politics. In response, the government of Zambia led by Hichilema withdrew retirement benefits and privileges from the former president.
Political analysts were anticipating a bruising encounter between Hichilema and Lungu in the upcoming 2026 presidential race.
The Star reported that Lungu, who ruled Zambia from 2015 to 2021, had faced a string of legal investigations and political isolation after leaving office. In recent months, those close to him reported growing stress and health concerns, raising questions about possible poisoning.
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The very idea that youths born after the dawn of democracy in 1994 are referred to as 'born frees' must surely feel like a cruel joke to those facing one closed door after another while trying to make something of their lives. The facts become even more sobering at the lower end of this age group, with a staggering unemployment rate of 62.4% listed for those aged under 24. Unemployment among those aged between 15 and 34, who make up almost half of the country's working age population, surged to 46.1% in the first quarter of 2025 , Statistics South Africa recently reported. This was up from 44.6% in the previous quarter. South Africa's younger citizens had little to celebrate this Youth Month. 'When fewer individuals are contributing to tax revenue, there is further strain on the fiscus,' she added. 'This diverts much-needed funding for enhancing the potential growth of the economy through infrastructure spending or for delivering on social services to maintain the overall standard of living for millions,' Packirisami told IOL. According to Sanish Packirisami, an economist at Momentum Investments, the most significant cost to the economy associated with unemployment is the strain that it puts on the fiscus, which must support an expanded social welfare programme . Youth unemployment is also incredibly costly to the economy. Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Social grants, necessitated by widespread unemployment, are a drain on the fiscus. South Africa's social welfare programme is believed to cost the Treasury around R285 billion per year. This funding includes the R370-per-month Social Relief of Distress grant that many unemployed youths apply for. Youth unemployment isn't simply a loss of productivity, it's also a loss of potential, says Dr Thabo Mashongoane, CEO of the Mining Qualifications Authority. 'Every unemployed young person represents a stalled contribution to GDP, a missed innovation, and in many cases, a future cost to the public through welfare or social assistance,' Mashongoane told IOL. Role of the informal sector While youth unemployment remains one of the most pressing challenges in South Africa, it is mitigated, to a degree, by the informal sector, says Maarten Ackerman, Chief Economist at Citadel. However, this situation also brings a set of unique challenges. 'While the informal economy is thriving and provides many youth with opportunities to earn a living, the downside is that these individuals lack access to formal financial services,' Ackerman said. 'For instance, without a payslip, it's much harder to qualify for a loan to buy a home or a car. This exclusion creates a significant gap in the economy.' Youth unemployment brings an economic as well as a human toll. Given that joblessness in South Africa is more prevalent across lower-income earning groups, it can fuel social unrest and crime, which damages the very fabric of society, Packirisami adds. An often unspoken aspect of the youth unemployment crisis is mental health. 'Poor mental health, substance abuse, limited digital access and gender-based barriers also create a divide for the unemployed,' Packirisami explained. 'More government support for those affected by poor mental health and substance abuse is necessary to provide a healthier workforce in SA.' Better support for women facing caregiving burdens was also needed to encourage female labour force participation in the economy, Packirisami added. What are the potential solutions to youth unemployment in South Africa? Addressing the youth unemployment crisis in South Africa will require a multi-pronged approach. At the very least, government needs to address the poor quality of basic education, which leaves gaps in literacy and numeracy, Packirisami said, leaving the workforce ill-equipped when it comes to foundational job-specific skills. 'Government needs to encourage more students to enter Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to provide practical skills, but these TVET colleges often suffer from underfunding, outdated curricula, and social stigma, as they are viewed as second-best options,' Packirisami added. A telling statistic is that 72% of the 'multidimensionally' poor youth in the former homeland areas of South Africa lack adequate education, according to the most recent Youth Multidimensional Poverty Index. People in these areas, deprived of essential infrastructure and services during the apartheid era, continue to suffer from widespread poverty. Addressing the skills mismatch Educational opportunities that are created also need to align with demand patterns in the economy, says Nkosinathi Mahlangu, Youth Employment Portfolio Head at Momentum Group. 'Alignment between institutions of higher learning and the economic drivers is key to getting young people to acquire skills that are in demand, instead of graduating or pursuing courses that will not result in employment.' Critical and scarce skills should also be listed and tracked, in order to steer the youth into careers that will help turn the tide, Mahlangu added. 'Skills that are imported need to be part of a knowledge transfer and upskilling plan that will subsequently give South Africans a chance to fill those roles in the medium to long term.'
