{"id":82555,"date":"2026-04-23T23:07:38","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T23:07:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/upnd-government-must-choose-humanity-over-power"},"modified":"2026-04-23T23:07:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T23:07:38","slug":"upnd-government-must-choose-humanity-over-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/upnd-government-must-choose-humanity-over-power","title":{"rendered":"UPND Government Must Choose Humanity Over Power"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zambia. <\/strong><\/span>What unfolded on Wednesday, 22 April, 2026, over the mortal remains of Zambia\u2019s Sixth Republican President, Dr Edgar Chagwa Lungu, was not an ordinary political dispute. It was a painful and emotional national moment, one that touched grief, dignity, law, and the final wishes of a departed former Head of State. In such moments, deep human feeling can break through with force. Mine did. That reaction came from a place of immense empathy and sympathy for the Lungu family as reports emerged that the body of their loved one was no longer in the custody they expected. The emotion was real, and it was grounded in the seriousness of what was unfolding.<\/p>\n

Earlier in the evening, disturbing reports began to circulate that the late President\u2019s body had been removed from the expected custody. In response to those reports, I recorded and published a social media video expressing outrage at what appeared to be a shocking development. The language of that moment reflected the pain and alarm that many people were feeling. This was never about malice. It was never about carelessness for its own sake. It was the response of someone confronted with what looked, even then, like a deeply troubling assault on dignity, family rights, and the sacredness that ought to surround the remains of a former Head of State.<\/p>\n

As the evening progressed, the Zambian Attorney General, Mr Mulilo Kabesha SC, issued a statement confirming that the Pretoria High Court had formally transferred the mortal remains of Dr Lungu to the Zambian Government. The statement further said that the remains had since been relocated from Two Mountains Burial Services to a facility managed by the South African Government. That statement was a turning point because it confirmed, in the Government\u2019s own words, that the Zambian Government had indeed taken possession or control of the process concerning the late President\u2019s remains. It was no longer a rumour. It was no longer idle speculation. It was a matter acknowledged by the State itself.<\/p>\n

As concern deepened, PF Pamodzi Alliance President Counsel Makebi Zulu joined Emmanuel Mwamba\u2019s platform and stated that the family was no longer in custody of the body. That intervention sharpened the gravity of the matter. It underscored the growing public fear that the family had been displaced in a matter where dignity, grief, and lawful process should have carried the greatest weight. Then came the decisive development that transformed a tense evening into a truly extraordinary one.<\/p>\n

Before the night could close, President Makebi Zulu made contact with Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, representing the Lungu family, and the legal position shifted dramatically. A court order dated 22 April 2026 directed that all necessary steps be taken to ensure that the body of President Lungu be returned to the premises and custody of Two Mountains Burial Services, or any mortuary nominated by the applicants, forthwith. The same order restrained the South African police respondents from handing over the body to the Government of Zambia, directed the Zambian Government to return the body to the funeral home, and required the respondents to show cause why they should not be convicted of contempt of court.<\/p>\n

That order is the hard centre of the story. It is the part no one can brush aside with clever language. It shows that by the end of the evening, a court had intervened urgently and ordered that the body be restored to the custody identified by the family. It also establishes the sequence plainly: the Attorney General publicly confirmed that the Government had obtained and relocated the remains, and immediately thereafter, a court order directed that those remains be returned.<\/p>\n

This is why the deeper truth of the night cannot be hidden beneath public relations language. My response was emotional because the matter itself was emotional. It involved a grieving family, a departed President, and events serious enough that a court later moved urgently to reverse what had happened and call for an explanation. If anything, the flow of events showed that the central alarm was not misplaced. The concern that something profoundly wrong had occurred was borne out by the very developments that followed.<\/p>\n

And so, empathy must lie first and foremost with the Lungu family. They are not just parties in litigation. They are a bereaved family carrying the burden of loss while navigating a painful and public conflict over the remains of their loved one. Whatever one\u2019s political position, there should be some boundaries that are never crossed. The mortal remains of a former President should never become a site of chaos, confusion, and competing forces. A nation that cannot honour its dead with decency is walking barefoot on broken glass.<\/p>\n

This should never have reached this point. The family\u2019s pain should not have been deepened in this way. The country did not need a spectacle. It needed restraint, dignity, and respect. Above all, it needed fidelity to the wishes of the deceased and humanity toward those he left behind.<\/p>\n

In the end, what the family really wants is not conflict. It is not a theatre. It is not political gamesmanship. What the family wants is simple, lawful, and deeply human: a dignified burial for the late former President, and the honouring of his wishes without fail.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Zambia<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zambia. What unfolded on Wednesday, 22 April, 2026, over the mortal remains of Zambia\u2019s Sixth Republican President, Dr Edgar Chagwa Lungu, was not an ordinary political dispute. It was a painful and emotional national moment, one that touched grief, dignity, law, and the final wishes of a departed former Head of State. In […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":82554,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[233],"class_list":["post-82555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-zambia"],"yoast_head":"\nUPND Government Must Choose Humanity Over Power - Zambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/upnd-government-must-choose-humanity-over-power\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UPND Government Must Choose Humanity Over Power\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press – Zambia. What unfolded on Wednesday, 22 April, 2026, over the mortal remains of Zambia\u2019s Sixth Republican President, Dr Edgar Chagwa Lungu, was not an ordinary political dispute. It was a painful and emotional national moment, one that touched grief, dignity, law, and the final wishes of a departed former Head of State. 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