A NATION DEEPLY DIVIDED
Many have asked me to speak on the painful and deeply troubling developments surrounding the funeral of our late Sixth Republican President, Edgar Chagwa Lungu.

I have hesitated… because this issue has become extremely divisive.
What we are witnessing as a nation is not just a disagreement. It is something far more painful.

We are watching a farewell turn into a battlefield.
We are watching a grieving family stand in the middle of noise, tension, and public spectacle.
We are watching a man who once led this country being spoken about, joked about, and reduced in ways that strip away the very dignity we all hope to have when our time comes.

And it hurts.
It hurts because behind the title “former President” was a human being—a father, a husband, a friend. Someone who was loved. Someone who laughed, who struggled, who lived.
Death should remind us of our shared humanity.
Instead, it is exposing how divided we have become.

There are those who are laughing. They are poking fun and making jokes. It’s horrifying to read some comments.
There are those who are crying.
And there are many who are simply silent—shocked at what we have become.

How did we get here?
How did we reach a point where a funeral becomes content for social media jokes, where grief becomes a debate… where dignity becomes optional?
This is not just about politics.
This is about who we are as a people.

Because if we cannot come together in death… then when will we ever come together?
But we must also speak honestly about leadership in moments like this.

Government must remember: power is not just about authority—it is about responsibility.
Power, when exercised without restraint, without wisdom, without empathy, can deepen wounds instead of healing them.
There are moments when the law must be firm—but there are also moments when humanity must lead.

This is one of those moments.
A grieving family cannot be handled like an ordinary dispute.
A funeral cannot be reduced to a process to be managed through force or rigid positions.

Because when authority is used without sensitivity, it stops being leadership—it begins to feel like domination.
And when people feel unheard in their grief, pain turns into anger, and anger turns into division.

Leadership must rise above that.
Leadership must calm, must listen, must unify.
This moment is slipping away from us.
And if we are not careful, it will leave behind a stain we cannot erase.
So today, this is not a political statement.
This is a human plea.

To the family… to the government… to everyone involved:
Please… let this not continue like this.
Stop the fighting.
Stop the court processes.
Step away from positions and pride.
Choose dialogue. Choose compassion. Choose peace.

Let wise and neutral voices help find a path forward.
Let this man be laid to rest with dignity.
Let his family mourn in peace.
Let Zambia breathe again.

Because one day, it will be us. One day, it will be someone we love lying still, unable to defend themselves, unable to speak.
And on that day, we will pray for dignity. We will pray for respect. We will pray that the world is kind.

Let us give that kindness now.
Let us not lose our humanity completely.
Let us remember who we are.
We are Zambia
Antonio Mourinho Mwanza
DPP President
Guys this pretending and tip toeing around a sensitive issue is what is hurting and causing confusing.
Sometimes be bold enough to stand out and be truthful. You yourself do even know the cause of death and you are telling us you are content with this half revelations.
Yet sections of your political friends go around using this same issue for political mileage against the conscious of a grieving nation. Come on guys stop being hypocritical. The way to end matters of this nature is to be factual and truthful.
Emotionally inclined statements wont help. Tell it as it is. For instance are you not aware that allegations of murder were made? Don’t you know the consequences such statements made on the live national broadcasting TV stations and Radio stations in a foriegn land will attract? Don’t you comprehend that a storm was about to hit the very case in question to address the persistent claims of an alleged homicide case.?
You tell me you didn’t sknow the backlash of such careless statements? While some of those emotionally charged unreasonable people went on international stages and publicly alleged a homicide case, thinking they were hurting and embarrassing their perceived enemy yet they directly accused another State of not doing anything to find the murder suspects.
These are matters at the center of this whole matter. You can not burry your heads in the sand in shock and disbelief that the unthinkable has happened. What exactly did you expect to happen? This is what really surprises me.
In short if you truly did not want such a thing to happen why then did people in your own camp as opposition make such reckless accusations to attract this criminal investigation. It is by the way a criminal investigation. Whether you like it or not. Why? well because someone unwise effectively made accusations and we believed them including the South African Police.
The audacity of blaming others for what a few known loud mouths did is very outrageous. Let that sink a little.
Take responsibility of actions taken period. Don’t play these mental games. Address the real issues. For instance tell us factually what the cause of death was.
Ten(10) months afterwards and no one knows for sure what the cause of death is. Ask your friends these simple questions like which name was used for admission.?
As simple an answer that should be, you will.discover unbelievably a fake name was used. So the obvious reasonable next question to ask is How did they reconciliation of the wrong name admited and the one on the death certification to balance.
Normally the equation won’t be solved because you have a person coming in on a specified name but wont be traced because his name won’t be reflected on the death certificate. This character just mysteriously and conveniently disappears in thin air.
And you mean we can not talk and ask these logical questions. In other words we normally start with the right name of admission to match the death certificate.
Any way these are the real issues alot of people are dodging to address. They like to shout about nothing because they know social media can be a weapon of misinformation. This is the elephant most people keep tip toeing around.
One thing unfortunately has being taken for granted. Common sense!! And Zambians have alot of common sense. Therefore nonsense won’t be tolerated. It is that simple.
There is and there will be no dignity in burying Lungu, it is too late. The dirty debates and mishandling of the body cannot provide a dignified burial. Just bury his body in whatever way.
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