Lungu's Legacy Weaponized: Political Figures Battle Over Late President's Burial for Campaign Gains

Dr. Nevers Mumba, President of the New Nation Party, has issued a stern warning to Zambians against supporting politicians who exploit the memory of the late former President Edgar Lungu as a campaign instrument. Speaking publicly in Solwezi District, North-Western Province, Dr. Mumba denounced this practice as both spiritually perilous and entirely inappropriate. He highlighted that leveraging a deceased Head of State’s memory for electoral gain is unprecedented in Zambia's political history, stressing that elections should be contested based on tangible policies, viable ideas, and proven leadership capabilities, rather than the legacy of a departed leader.

The controversy surrounding the late President Lungu's burial has escalated with statements from politician Mr. Mundubile, whose remarks carry implications too grave to disregard. Mr. Mundubile's suggestion that a dignified burial for the late president could only be ensured if his party, NRPUP, secures power, raises profound questions about the true motivations behind the prolonged burial impasse. It compels scrutiny into whether the initial resistance to President Hakainde Hichilema’s involvement in the funeral was genuinely about distancing the government, or if it was a calculated strategy to maintain the issue as a political weapon for the upcoming election campaign.

Recent developments have intensified this debate. Just a week prior, the Lungu family, represented by Mr. Mundubile’s running mate Makebi Zulu, achieved a significant victory in the South African Supreme Court. This ruling prevented the Zambian government from repatriating the body and overseeing the late president’s funeral. Following this court decision, the Zambian government publicly announced its decision not to appeal, thereby allowing the family to proceed with the burial in South Africa as per their wishes. However, a subsequent statement from Makebi Zulu, indicating that the Lungu family was still deliberating on the final burial site, came as a surprise, as many anticipated a clear plan after their legal triumph.

The most significant shock, however, emanates from Mr. Mundubile, who declared the plan to postpone President Lungu's burial until after the August elections. This stance has been widely condemned as “cruel politics,” with critics arguing that those claiming affection for the late president are consenting to keep his body in a mortuary, believing his unburied state can garner votes. This strategy appears to be a cold calculation of how much sympathy can be extracted from grieving citizens. Questions are now being raised about the Lungu family’s purported consent to such an arrangement, where their late husband and father would remain unburied, awaiting electoral outcomes.

The painful truth, as observed by commentators, is that the individuals involved in this matter appear strategically constrained. Burying Mr. Lungu in South Africa would severely limit their political leverage, as they would be unable to parade the body in Zambia to cultivate votes, nor could they transform the funeral into a national campaign platform or use the burial procession to incite public emotion across different provinces. From this perspective, they might perceive such an immediate burial as a “wasted” political opportunity. This raises critical questions about the nature of leadership that views the remains of a former president as mere campaign capital.

Mr. Mundubile faces a simple yet profound question: Should the NRPUP lose the August election, a very real possibility, what becomes of the late president's body? Will the burial be indefinitely postponed until the next electoral cycle in 2031? Will the late president remain unburied merely because voters denied Mr. Mundubile State House? Such