State House denies cancelling ECL mourning period
STATE House Chief Communications Specialist Clayson Hamasaka has expressed concern over media reports alleging that Republican President Hakainde Hichilema “abruptly cancelled the national mourning period for the late President Edgar Lungu.”
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On Thursday, President Hichilema officially ended the extended national mourning period that had been declared in honour of Mr Lungu to allow the country to begin returning to normalcy.
The national mourning was extended to a period of nine days, from the initial seven days that were declared following the late former President’s death in South Africa.
However, some media reports alleged that the extended mourning period was abruptly cancelled.
In a media statement, Mr Hamasaka described the reports as a misrepresentation of facts.
He clarified that what is accurate is that President Hichilema had abruptly extended the period of national mourning, not cancelled it.
“The extension was granted in good faith to accommodate the wishes of the Lungu family, who requested additional time for logistical and personal reasons,” he said.
Mr Hamasaka explained that under normal circumstances, the official period of national mourning for a former Head of State is prescribed as seven days.
“In this case, the President exercised his discretion and goodwill to extend that period beyond the statutory timeframe,” he stated.
He added that any claims to the contrary are misleading and should be treated as such.
(Mwebantu, Saturday, 21st June, 2025)
