Chasing a Coffin: The Political Gamble Behind Kabesha's Pretoria Court Move- Dr Lawrence Mwelwa - The Zambian Observer
Chasing a Coffin: The Political Gamble Behind Kabesha’s Pretoria Court Move
By Dr Lawrence Mwelwa
What are you up to?
Is this the final blow to an already reckless mishandling of a delicate national moment, or just the climax of a government so intoxicated with power that it dares drag its own constitution through a foreign court to settle scores with a man who can no longer speak for himself? When Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha stands before the High Court in Pretoria, is he defending Zambia’s honour or putting on display the pettiness that has haunted Edgar Lungu from State House to the grave?
Did the framers of Article 177(5)(c) ever envision that it could be twisted into a legal leash for chasing a coffin across borders, instead of upholding dignity at home?
In whose name is Mr. Kabesha pursuing this legal battle — on behalf of the Zambian people, or to serve the interests of a President who appears so unsettled by his predecessor’s legacy that even the details of his burial must be tightly controlled?
Under South African law, the dead belong to the family first, not to a foreign flag or the fragile pride of an insecure administration. The Constitution of South Africa, local statutes, and common law fiercely protect a family’s right to mourn and bury their own, free from foreign executive orders. So, does this courtroom adventure respect the sovereignty of another nation or make Zambia look like a meddling neighbour with no respect for borders?
If Pretoria’s High Court dismisses this desperate interdict, as legal precedent strongly suggests it might, will Kabesha return home victorious — or will he drag back a public embarrassment that confirms what many Zambians quietly whisper: that this government cannot separate personal grudges from official duty?
Politically, what does this gamble achieve? Each foreign affidavit fuels sympathy for Lungu’s family, turns his burial into an act of defiance, and shines a global spotlight on how far the ruling party is willing to go to police a dead man’s legacy. Who benefits from that spectacle except the opposition and restless voters?
And where does this leave a grieving family forced to explain to foreign judges why they wish to bury their father in peace, far from the theatre of Zambian politics that stalked him to his last breath? Is it not a shame that the same government which denied him medical help now wants to command his funeral with legal threats abroad?
So, Mr. Kabesha, when the dust settles and the Pretoria court has spoken, who will bury the consequences of this political miscalculation? And will your government survive the anger of a nation that sees power games being played over a man’s grave? What exactly are you up to?
