 Evening Briefing | Inside Lungu’s Final Days As Mine Shootings Rock North-Western

Good evening! A month after Edgar Chagwa Lungu’s passing, new medical details have come to light, quietly countering the swirl of conspiracy theories that have overshadowed Zambia’s conversation about its former leader’s death.

According to official medical documents and close family sources, former President Lungu died of septic shock, multi-organ failure, and oesophageal cancer. These disclosures match what his attending hospital outlined in a now-corroborated timeline: having battled the condition since January, Lungu was cleared as an outpatient after months of care and was due for a simple review later this year.

But a different facility recommended minor corrective surgery, which he underwent in early June. Doctors say the operation itself was successful and he was alert in the recovery ward. Complications arose days later when he developed a chest infection that progressed rapidly. He passed away on a Thursday morning, July 5 marking exactly one month since that loss.

Critics of the Patriotic Front’s high-voltage narratives will see this as confirmation that the truth was simpler than the political theatre made it seem. Claims of poisoning or “bitterness” as a new “cancer variant,” as once suggested by Given Lubinda and Raphael Nakacinda, appear less credible now that the record shows a documented clinical decline.

Authorities say the miners forced their way into restricted mining zones on June 3, overpowering security barricades in a scramble for the gold-rich earth. Tear gas and rubber bullets failed to disperse the crowd. Police opened live fire in what they described as self-defence when the miners kept advancing.

Two miners died while being rushed to hospital. A third body was recovered the following day. The clash also left five police officers wounded, one of whom succumbed to injuries, underscoring how chaotic the illegal mining surge has become in that gold belt.

Home Affairs Minister Jack Mwiimbu confirmed that police have since seized more than 20 vehicles, over 100 scanning devices, and five firearms, some of which were military-grade. The Defence Ministry has raised the alarm over massive revenue leaks, rampant environmental degradation, and a new breed of illegal miners reportedly operating with organised structures.

A 120-kilometre security cordon is now in place around the Kikonge area. But many locals fear the region’s simmering tensions are far from over as the lure of easy gold continues to draw desperate diggers despite the heavy presence of security forces.