Africa-Press – Tanzania. PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has extended her condolences to Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema following the passing of former President Edgar Lungu.
In her message, President Samia expressed her deep consternation at the loss of the Form V intake surges former Zambian statesman.
“I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of the former President of the Republic of Zambia, His Excellency Edgar Chagwa Lungu. On behalf of the Government and the people of the United Republic of Tanzania, I extend our heartfelt condolences to His Excellency, Hakainde Hichilema, President of the Republic of Zambia, President Lungu’s family, friends and the people of Zambia. May his soul Rest in Peace,” reads the head of state’s message.
The former Head of State, Mr Lungu, aged 68, passed away on Thursday while receiving medical treatment in Pretoria, South Africa.
In a brief video clip, Lungu’s daughter, Tasila Lungu, confirmed that her father passed away on Thursday at a clinic in Pretoria, South Africa, where he had been receiving medical care in recent weeks.
“In this moment of grief, we invoke the spirit of ‘ One Zambia, One Nation’ – the timeless creed that guided President Lungu’s service to our country,” she said. In his condolence message, President Hichilema called for solemnity, unity, and an outpouring of love and compassion.
“Let us come together as one people, above political affiliation or personal conviction, to honour the life of a man who once held the highest office in our land,” he said.
The fallen Lungu served as Zambia’s President for six years, from 2015 to 2021 when he lost in an election to the current President, Hakainde Hichilema, by a significant margin.
After that defeat he stepped back from politics but later returned to the fray. He had ambitions to vie for the presidency again but at the end of last year the Constitutional Court barred him from running, ruling that he had already served the two terms allowed by law.
The existing relationship between Tanzania and Zambia, originally established by their founding fathers, was notably strengthened by the late Lungu’s significant contributions.
Notably, he visited Dar es Salaam in 2016 for bilateral talks with then late President John Magufuli, during which the two leaders signed agreements to revitalize the Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) and the Tanzania Zambia Mafuta (TAZAMA) pipeline.
Tanzania’s fourth President Jakaya Kikwete also made a state visit to Lusaka in 2015, where he met with Lungu as part of deepening diplomatic ties between the two countries.
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