Africa-Press – Zambia. …ten months tick on 5 April
“La muerte no espera, y el respeto al muerto es sagrado”—death does not wait, and respect for the dead is sacred. But in Zambia, respect for the dead has been replaced by fear and silence.” Amb. Anthony Mukwita
Mar 31, 2026
Ten months will pass on 5 April since Zambia’s sixth President, Edgar Chagwa Lungu, was laid low by death, yet his body remains frozen, unburied, and trapped in a legal limbo.
Today, leading presidential candidate Hon. Brian Mundubile broke down in tears, pleading with the government of President Hakainde Hichilema to allow Lungu’s family to bury him with dignity. Daily Nation Zambia
“Our sixth president remains unburied—tragic for the family. We pray for them; we implore the government to allow a decent burial as per wish of the family. We cannot continue punishing this family,” Mundubile said, his voice cracking with sorrow.
The Attorney General’s court action has halted the burial, leaving Zambia and the world gobsmacked, the cost on taxpayers, astronomical and spikes every day.
No one is allowed to discuss how much Zambia is paying South African lawyers to keep ECL frozen on ordinary Zambia taxpayers’ money amid poverty.
Mundubile says his team is crunching the numbers to find out how much Joe the plumber in Kalingalinga pays for the court action in Pretoria.
The presidential aspirant says, “How can a nation deny rest to a man whose presidential titles and benefits were stripped while he was alive? It boggles the mind.”
Mundubile adds that, “Lungu was no ordinary leader—his footsteps are etched across Chilubi, Bweengwa, Dundumwezi, Mutanda, and Kasempa, where hospitals, schools, power lines, and roads stand as monuments to his vision.
“He used to say, ‘I am the President of Zambia, I will take development to places where I was not voted.’ That was President Edgar Lungu. He wanted to be a president for all Zambia, not one region,” Mundubile recalled.
Yet today, even speaking of Lungu’s death has become dangerous. Prominent politician and presidential aspirant Fred M’membe was recently locked up simply for demanding his burial according to family wishes.
His arrest sent shockwaves across Zambia, a chilling reminder that mourning itself has become a crime.
“La muerte no espera, y el respeto al muerto es sagrado”—death does not wait, and respect for the dead is sacred. But in Zambia, respect for the dead has been replaced by fear and silence.
Mundubile’s plea was not just political; it was human. “Lungu saved this family this nation with diligence, he was a great president,” he said. “If we cannot bury him under President HH, we must bury him under God.”
Mundubile’s words echoed across a nation bewildered by the cruelty of denying a family closure because of a court action by the office of the attorney general of Zambia.
Dr. Fred M’membe, too, spoke with anguish before his arrest: “It is dangerous now to even ask for Edgar Lungu’s burial. But we must not fear—we must demand dignity for our leaders, even in death.”
Ten months frozen. Ten months of sorrow.
Ten months of unanswered prayers. Why does Zambia want to bury a president they dethroned while alive—why? Asks Mundubile.
Brian Mundubile: “We cannot continue punishing this family. Edgar Lungu was the president of all of Zambia.”
Fred M’membe: “It has become dangerous to even speak of his burial, but dignity must be demanded.”
Zambia goes to the polls on 13 August, possibly with an unburied President frozen in SA. Mrs. Esther Lungu weeps.
–Amb. Anthony Mukwita, Author & Analyst.
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