By Staff Reporter

Zambia’s Minister of Information and Media, Cornelius Mweetwa, speaking  to from on the protracted standoff between the government and the family of late President Edgar Chagwa Lungu, describing the situation as “unprecedented, un-Zambian, and culturally troubling.”

Speaking in an interview  addressing the delayed repatriation of the former president’s body from South Africa, Mweetwa said the government had done everything within its power to support the Lungu family from the time the former leader fell ill. He expressed deep regret that the funeral of a former Head of State has been overshadowed by what he termed “a shocking and illogical impasse.”

“This is something beyond reason,” Mweetwa said. “It is culturally and traditionally un-Zambian. The nation is shocked. The continent is watching, and what has transpired goes against the very way we, as Africans, mourn our dead.”

He revealed that the Zambian government was caught completely off guard when the family halted the repatriation of Lungu’s remains at Lanseria Airport in Johannesburg, just before the body was due to be flown back to Lusaka. “There was no outstanding issue of such gravity that should have led to this unfortunate situation,” he said.

Mweetwa clarified that the government had maintained contact with Lungu’s family during his medical treatment in South Africa and had coordinated with authorities there to ensure all arrangements were in place. He thanked the South African government for the support rendered both during Lungu’s treatment and after his passing.

Dismissing claims that Lungu was mistreated or abandoned by the state, Mweetwa firmly stated that the former president received all benefits due to him under Zambian law until he resumed active politics.

“There is an allegation that he died a persecuted man and without benefits. That is false,” Mweetwa said. “According to Chapter 15, Section 5 of the Former Presidents’ Benefits Act, any former president who returns to active politics loses their entitlement to those benefits. That is what the law says. And it has applied to others before him, including Rupiah Banda.”

He further noted that it was ironic that the same Patriotic Front leaders, who once enforced that law against Banda, were now framing its application as persecution in Lungu’s case.

Responding to widely publicized statements by Lungu’s legal representatives  including the controversial claim that the late president had instructed that President Hakainde Hichilema should not come near his body  Mweetwa said the entire country was blindsided by such assertions.

“There was no logical cause to make such a divisive claim,” he said, adding that the government had never sought to politicize the funeral. Instead, it had focused on ensuring a dignified farewell befitting a former head of state.

Turning to Lungu’s immunity, the minister noted that unlike previous presidents, Lungu passed on without ever having his immunity lifted or facing criminal charges. “Dr. Kaunda was placed under house arrest. Chiluba was prosecuted. Banda’s immunity was lifted. Lungu has faced none of that. So, to portray him as persecuted is disingenuous.”

In a pointed comment, Mweetwa suggested that the resistance to government involvement in the burial process might be influenced by legal anxieties within Lungu’s close circle. He hinted that some of the former president’s immediate family members  including his wife and children  are facing legal scrutiny over what he described as “astronomical and unexplained wealth.”

“That, perhaps, is the real source of the tension,” he said. “But it must not prevent us from giving a dignified burial to a former president.”

Despite the controversy, Mweetwa reiterated that President Hichilema’s government remains committed to dialogue and reconciliation. He emphasized that efforts were ongoing to resolve the standoff with the family and to proceed with the repatriation and burial with the dignity and national unity such an occasion demands.

“This is not a time for divisions,” he said. “President Hichilema continues to engage in good faith. Our goal is simple: to return the body of the late president to his homeland and to honour him in the spirit of One Zambia, One Nation.”

However, shortly after this interview, President Hichilema officially marked the end of the national mourning period  a significant signal that the state funeral process, in its national form, had effectively concluded. This move, while made with decorum, now places the responsibility for the remaining funeral proceedings squarely in the hands of the Lungu family, making any further delays or decisions a matter of private coordination.

As of this report, the funeral arrangements remain uncertain, but the minister pledged to return with updates “within the day” once progress is made. The world continues to watch as Zambia navigates a delicate national moment marred by political undercurrents, personal grief, and legal shadows.

Source: Channel Africa