By Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba
Africa-Press – Zambia. Late President Edgar Chagwa Lungu’s daughter Hon. Tasila Lungu Mwansa has lost her Chawama parliamentary seat.
But the full weight of this decision becomes even more heartbreaking when one remembers a fact that cannot be ignored.
Her father, the late President Edgar Chagwa Lungu, is STILL not buried because the government sued her, her mother, her siblings, and the family spokesperson.
This lawsuit, initiated by the State, has kept the Lungu family in endless court hearings, delaying the burial of a man who once led this nation. It is a situation that no family regardless of politics should ever endure.
And it is this cruel and prolonged legal battle, forced upon them, that has kept Hon. Tasila Lungu out of Parliament.
Hon. Tasila has not been absent out of negligence.
She has been absent because she has been forced into courtroom after courtroom, fighting for the right to lay her father to rest.
Every hearing pulls her back into trauma.
Every adjournment reminds her that closure remains out of reach.
Every delay deepens the wound.
What kind of nation forces a daughter to choose between her parliamentary duties and the burial of her own father a burial delayed by the very government now punishing her for missing sittings?
While Hon. Tasila Lungu was grieving and battling in court a court case initiated by the State itself Parliament has chosen to take away her seat. At a time when support, empathy, and understanding should prevail, we are witnessing the opposite: the weaponisation of procedure against a bereaved family.
Other MPs with far less compelling reasons for absence have never been subjected to such drastic action. The inconsistency is glaring. The insensitivity is painful. And the message it sends is chilling:
You may lose your parent,
We may drag you to court,
We may delay the burial,
And when you miss Parliament because of it we will punish you.
This is not justice.
This is not leadership.
This is cruelty.
It is impossible to overstate the emotional torment the Lungu family has endured. Months after his passing, Zambia’s Sixth President remains unburied not because of family conflict, not because of indecision but because of a legal case brought against them by the very government now declaring Tasila’s seat vacant.
The people of Chawama voted for Tasila because they saw her dedication and her heart. She worked quietly, effectively, and without theatrics. Even in her grief, she remained committed to her community.
To strip her of her seat during the most painful chapter of her life is not just unfair it is unkind.
Our country is built on values of respect, empathy, and ubuntu. We do not laugh at mourning families. We do not punish daughters whose only crime is loving their father enough to fight for his dignified burial.
Hon. Tasila Lungu deserved support, not a political blow.
She deserved time to mourn, not institutional punishment.
She deserved understanding, not exclusion.
And above all, her father deserved to be laid to rest with dignity and honour.
Now the country already struggling will spend millions for a by election when we have elections in the next few months.
Source: The Zambian Observer
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