{"id":82654,"date":"2026-04-27T20:25:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T20:25:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/use-power-wisely-no-time-for-hh-to-flex-political-muscle"},"modified":"2026-04-27T20:31:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T20:31:29","slug":"use-power-wisely-no-time-for-hh-to-flex-political-muscle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/use-power-wisely-no-time-for-hh-to-flex-political-muscle","title":{"rendered":"Use Power Wisely No Time for HH to Flex Political Muscle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zambia. <\/strong><\/span>ZAMBIA risks becoming an international embarrassment if the dispute over the burial of former president Edgar Chagwa Lungu is not resolved urgently, former Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) General Secretary Bishop Emmanuel Chikoya has warned.<\/p>\n

In an interview with The Mast, Bishop Chikoya said the country was edging toward ridicule in the eyes of the global community because those in authority appeared unable to bring the matter to a dignified resolution.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is very disheartening that as a country, we have failed to deal with the former president\u2019s burial even after 10 months of his passing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Bishop Chikoya urged President Hakainde Hichilema to approach the issue with wisdom and statesmanship, noting that the Lungu family was enduring an already painful period and deserved compassion.<\/p>\n

Bishop Chikoya said this was not the moment to flex political muscle or settle old scores, but to ensure that the nation found closure in a manner befitting the gravity of the situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy call is for the head of state not to use his power and muscle to prove a point but find a way of dealing with this matter in an amicable manner,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Bishop Chikoya warned that failure to handle the matter maturely would leave a lasting stain on Zambia\u2019s image both at home and abroad.<\/p>\n

He appealed to traditional leaders and the clergy to step in as mediators, urging them to engage all parties involved in finding an enduring and dignified solution.<\/p>\n

\u201cZambia is a Christian nation. Therefore, we have to try and forgive each other and put our differences aside, especially when dealing with such delicate issues,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Bishop Chikoya said Lungu deserved a proper send-off.<\/p>\n

The nation owed him a respectful and dignified burial regardless of political differences.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, the Zambian government disregarded a court order and forcibly took away the body of Lungu from Two Mountains Burial Services (PTY) Limited.<\/p>\n

The government subsequently conducted a post-mortem on the body without the consent or presence of his family.<\/p>\n

The issue has divided the nation further with majority members of the public expressing anger and shock while the United Party for National Development (UPND) and its supporters have defended the government\u2019s actions are ridiculing both the dead former president<\/p>\n

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

Africa-Press – Zambia. ZAMBIA risks becoming an international embarrassment if the dispute over the burial of former president Edgar Chagwa Lungu is not resolved urgently, former Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) General Secretary Bishop Emmanuel Chikoya has warned. In an interview with The Mast, Bishop Chikoya said the country was edging toward ridicule in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":82653,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[233],"class_list":["post-82654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-zambia"],"yoast_head":"\nUse Power Wisely No Time for HH to Flex Political Muscle - Zambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"ZAMBIA risks becoming an international embarrassment if the dispute over the burial of former president Edgar Chagwa Lun ...\" \/>\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\/use-power-wisely-no-time-for-hh-to-flex-political-muscle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Use Power Wisely No Time for HH to Flex Political Muscle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"ZAMBIA risks becoming an international embarrassment if the dispute over the burial of former president Edgar Chagwa Lun ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/use-power-wisely-no-time-for-hh-to-flex-political-muscle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Zambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-27T20:25:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-27T20:31:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zambia\/sites\/35\/2026\/04\/sm_1777321872.372771.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"369\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/use-power-wisely-no-time-for-hh-to-flex-political-muscle#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/use-power-wisely-no-time-for-hh-to-flex-political-muscle\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Use Power Wisely No Time for HH to Flex Political Muscle\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-27T20:25:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-27T20:31:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/use-power-wisely-no-time-for-hh-to-flex-political-muscle\"},\"wordCount\":399,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/use-power-wisely-no-time-for-hh-to-flex-political-muscle#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zambia\/sites\/35\/2026\/04\/sm_1777321872.372771.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Zambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/use-power-wisely-no-time-for-hh-to-flex-political-muscle#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/use-power-wisely-no-time-for-hh-to-flex-political-muscle\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/use-power-wisely-no-time-for-hh-to-flex-political-muscle\",\"name\":\"Use Power Wisely No Time for HH to Flex Political Muscle - 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