In Zambia, individuals have become very political.
The accumulation of mourning and funerals is by no means an easy time, but the consequences are caused by the long-standing dispute between two top politicians in the country – President Hakainde Hichilema and his current predecessor Edgar Lungu – you have an explosive mix.
Hostile hatred has led Lungu's family to say one of his dying wishes was that Hichilema should not walk near his body.
The bank scanned the government’s plans to honor the former head of state, creating painful rifts in the country and leaving people wondering how things got so bad.
Zhou Japanese came to be the state funeral for the 68-year-old, which ruled for six years since 2015. However, there will be no visiting VIPs and venues – the huge convention center in the heart of the capital Lusaka will be empty.
After Lungu passed away on June 5, possible trouble has emerged in the video messages his daughter shared on Facebook.
Tasila Lungu, wearing a thick black coat to stop tears, said her father died in a South African hospital where he was treated with “dignity and privacy.”
Lungu [PF]
She bypassed the announcement for a minute and said, “In that moment of sadness, we evoke the spirit of 'a Zambia, a nation' – the eternal creed that guides President Longu's service to our country”.
Emphasizing the need for unity when tradition shows that the country should come together naturally is a clue that everything is not going well.
There is another question: Where is the president's announcement?
Ms Lungu's statement confirmed social media rumors about her father's death, including the Kenyan president's mourning news, but Hichilema had nothing.
National broadcaster ZNBC remained silent when independent media reported the news.
Then, three hours after his daughter's position, the head of state in Zambia shared his thoughts in a Facebook text post. He made a call for solidarity, asking people to “maintain the values that define us as Zambians”.
Information Minister Cornelius Mweetwa dismissed concerns about Hichilema's delay in talking about death. He told the BBC that based on precedent, the first person to announce his ex's death was not the role of the head of state.
Nevertheless, Longu's supporters believe that Hichilema's message about “unity” is hollow.
Hichilema eventually became the president's sixth attempt after defeating Lungu in a 2021 poll. This is their third election showdown, but this hatred goes beyond the competition in the voting box.
Hichilema (C) was welcomed by supporters when she was released from prison in August 2017 [AFP via Getty Images]
The key to understanding this is the more than 100 days spent in custody in 2017 by opposition leader Hichilema, who was waiting for the trial of treason.
His convoy allegedly refused to give way to the person who transported the head of state, and he was accused of endangering the life of then-President Longu.
These allegations were only dropped after the intervention of the Commonwealth Secretary-General.
Later that year, Shihlema told the BBC that he was in isolation under relegation and inhumane conditions, “no electricity, no water, no toilets.” He personally accused Lungu of being imprisoned.
This is just 17 times Hichilema was arrested. Supporters of his national development party were also harassed by supporters of the Patriotic Front (PF).
The 2021 election may draw a line between things.
Lungu, who was turned down by nearly a million votes for corruption allegations and concerns about obvious anti-democratic behavior, entered political retirement.
But as fantasies about the presidency of Sichilema due to ongoing economic difficulties, Longu is aware of the opportunity and announced in October 2023 that he is returning to the frontline politics.
Shortly after the announcement, Lungu withdrew his retirement benefits and privileges as he returned to positive politics.
This decision is commensurate with the former president and his family.
Longgu also complained about police harassment. At one point last year, he said he was “actually arresting.”
Some of Lungu's supporters have had a regular run with him, which police call “political activism” [Andy Luki Jr]
In 2023, police warned him not to jog in public, describing his weekly exercise as “political activism.”
“I can't move out of my house and drive home without being aggravated and challenged by the police,” Lungu told the BBC in May 2024.
In the interview, he also claimed that he was banned from attending overseas conferences and traveling abroad for medical treatment.
The Information Minister strongly denied that there was a travel ban and described the idea that his movement was restricted in Zambia to “the imagination of fictional novels and fictional political charging thinking.”
Mweetwa added that although Hichilema was treated when she objected, he decided not to do the same with Lungu.
The president's anti-corruption crusade was also accused of approaching those of former PF (including Longu's family).
His legacy continues to investigate and has been taken to court and lost his property. Some of his children, including Tasila, face similar treatments – they all deny wrongdoing.
Then late last year, the Constitutional Court banned him from running for president again, ruling that he had appointed two terms allowed by law.
The former head of state was angry at the way he felt he was treated.
“There is no love between two men [Lungu] It is believed: “I don't want people to pretend they die, but they aren't,” said Makebi Zulu, a lawyer for the family.
Lungu eventually managed to arrive in South Africa in January, but Mr Zulu said after a series of tests, his doctor told him that if he had had a test earlier, the treatment would have a greater chance of success.
No revealing his pain.
Longgu said partly because he “didn't want the current president to attend the funeral.”
The government rejected Longu's idea that he was blocked from seeing doctors in South Africa.
After his death, the family wanted to take charge of the funeral arrangements, but Zambian authorities tried to control it.
Despite the discomfort, it appears that a compromise had been reached last weekend and plans for a state funeral were laid out.
But the relationship broke down again as the family said the government was releasing a plan that showed that Hichilema was involved in more than it was planned.
In a message Thursday, the president thanked Zambians for their “resilience, patience, solidarity and calmness” during this time, but after doing “everything that can be possible to interact with their families… we have reached the point where we must make clear decisions”.
Thus, the funeral arrangements in Zambia were put on hold and the national period of mourning was suddenly shortened.
The funeral will now be held in South Africa and it seems unlikely that Hichilema will attend.
Zambians have always wanted Hichilema and Lungu to bury their differences, but this death and subsequent events deny the closure and reconciliation that one desperately hopes to see between the two.
These differences also deny the opportunity of millions of Zambians to mourn and pay their last respect to the men who once ruled them.
More BBC stories from Zambia:
go bbcafrica.com More news about the African continent.
Follow us on Twitter @bbcafrica,on Facebook BBC Africa Or on Instagram bbcafraca
BBC Africa Podcast
