STATE House is asking Mr Brian Mundubile and his team a very pertinent question, and we expect them to answer it without hiding behind emotion. Their entire argument, from the time this burial impasse began, was that they wanted to respect the dying wish of late president Edgar Chagwa Lungu. They argued that the Zambian government was standing in the way by insisting on a state funeral. They fought that battle in court, and the Lungu family won the right to decide where the former president should be buried. South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the family’s right to choose the burial site, and the Zambian government later indicated that it would not pursue further legal action.
So the question is simple: if all this was about respecting Mr Lungu’s wish, was it also his wish that he should only be buried if NRPUP wins elections in August? This is not a complicated question. It goes to the heart of the matter. If the late president’s wish was so sacred that it justified resisting the government, fighting in court and prolonging the burial process, why has that same wish suddenly become secondary to Mr Mundubile’s electoral ambitions? Why is the burial now being tied to the outcome of an election?
With this one question, people can see what we stated in our editorial yesterday. This clique around Mr Mundubile is changing its own rules and narratives in order to suit political interests. When it was convenient, they said the issue was about family wishes, dignity, privacy and the late president’s alleged desire not to be associated with President Hakainde Hichilema in death. Now that the family has been given room to proceed, the story is changing. The burial is no longer urgent. The wish is no longer immediate. The dignity is no longer unconditional. It must wait for a campaign result.
That is why State House is right to say this conduct amounts to an injustice and betrayal of the former president by people who claimed to love him. A former Head of State must not be turned into an election poster. His remains must not be converted into a campaign strategy. His family’s grief must not be weaponised to manipulate public sympathy. If Mr Mundubile and his team truly believed that Mr Lungu deserved dignity, they would not attach that dignity to a ballot paper. They would not say, in effect, “vote for us if you want him buried properly”. That is not leadership. That is political blackmail.
This is a dangerous clique because it appears willing to do anything for power. It wants to dupe the Zambian people into believing that the late president cannot rest unless they are voted into government. What kind of politics is this? What kind of morality allows people to hold a burial hostage to an election? What kind of friends, comrades or loyalists look at the mortal remains of a former president and see a campaign asset?
We must not be misunderstood. The Lungu family has rights. They have grief. They have their own pain and disagreements with the current government. No one should dismiss that. But rights must be exercised with responsibility. Grief must not be outsourced to politicians who are looking for votes. The country has already been dragged through a painful and embarrassing funeral dispute. At some point, those who claim to care about Mr Lungu must ask themselves whether they are serving his memory or abusing it.
Mr Mundubile’s statement has exposed too much. If he loses the election, what happens to the body? Does the burial remain suspended? Does the family continue consulting indefinitely? Does the late president remain in political custody until another campaign season? These are not small questions. They show the danger of careless political messaging. A man who wants to be President of Zambia must understand that words carry consequences. When he speaks about a former president’s burial as though it is a reward to be unlocked by electoral victory, he reveals a frightening lack of judgment.
There is also a broader lesson for Zambians. We must be careful with politicians who manufacture victimhood and then use it to demand power. Today it is a burial. Tomorrow it may be national security. Next time it may be ethnic identity, religion, the courts or the military. A clique that can politicise a corpse can politicise anything. That is why citizens must see through this conduct early. It is not ordinary campaign rhetoric. It is a warning sign.
The Christian community and all people of goodwill must speak. This matter has gone beyond partisan argument. Zambia deserves healing and closure. Mr Lungu deserves to be remembered as a former president, not as an unresolved campaign tool. Those who say they loved him must do the honourable thing: bury him with dignity, according to the wish they have been citing, and allow the nation to move on.
Mr Mundubile and his team must answer State House’s question. Was it Mr Lungu’s wish to be buried only if they win elections? If the answer is no, then they must stop using his name to chase power. Let them campaign on policies. Let them explain their economic plan. Let them tell citizens what they will do about jobs, debt, mining, agriculture, education and cost of living. But let them stop holding Mr Lungu’s burial as a campaign card. It is immoral, dangerous and deeply shameful.
Do you agree that child defilers should be castrated?
Total Votes: 756
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
23 Parirenyatwa Road
Rhodes Park
P.O. Box 32147
Lusaka, Zambia
Telephone or WhatsApp:
+26-097-7708285
+26-095-3424603
+26-096-5815078
Email:
diggers [at] diggers [dot] news
editor [at] diggers [dot] news
