Arrangements of funerals can be tested at the best time – not to mention the previous head of state. In the tense, initial sad phase, loved ones must mess with costs, the desires of the deceased, and many other factors in order to throw the right delivery.
Adding the conflicting desires of the National Government and its political opponents has become very complicated.
Edgar Lungu, who led Zambia from 2015 to 2021, passed away last Thursday. His death at 68 shocked the Zambians – all radio stations played gospel music for the man, but still had influence in Zambian politics, despite being banned from last year's general election.
Zambia is a formal Christian country – most people take religion and mourning periods seriously.
But the stalemate between his family, the government and Longu's party, the Patriotic Front (PF), confuses mourners about how the former president should be respected.
The government announced that a state funeral would be held and the official venue for the mourning would be its cottage owned in the capital Lusaka, but the PF rejected the plan and instead directed the mourners to its headquarters.
As for Lungu’s family, they said they were not against the state funeral, but insisted on choosing who would preside over the funeral.
Then there is the official condolence letter, and the mourners can pay tribute to Longgu. The government has already developed a formal book on the hut – but the PF urges people to sign their books at headquarters.
The government wants to repatriate his body from South Africa last week – Lungu died there due to undisclosed treatment for the disease.
However, PF and Lungu's families intervened in hopes of safe passage of former leaders of the organization.
“The state is saying, 'We gave him full military honor, so we took over from here' – as if saying, 'You have no idea about what happened,'” Zulu said.
The plan to return to Lungu's body is not clear, although the family is now interacting with the government on the issue.
During the “official” mourning, confusion also arises when all forms of entertainment, such as large soccer matches and concerts, are stopped.
The government announced a seven-day national mourning period that began last Saturday, even though the PF announced a day ago.
PF has held a memorial service for the former president in South Africa – attended by his family, including his legacy [PF]
In short, this chaos is a continuation of the turbulent relationship between Lungu and his successor Hakainde Hichilema.
The two are long-time rivals – Hichilema was charged with treason for more than 100 days in 2017 when Lungu was president, after Hichilema's convoy allegedly refused to block him.
Hichilema was released from the Commonwealth intervention. Four years later, after five attempts in the presidency, Xixilema defeated Longu.
Now, lawyers from the PF and Lungu family accused the Hichilema administration of partial responsibility for the death of the former president.
Lungu returned to the front line politics in 2023, often accusing Hichilema's government of victimizing him and other PF members.
Now, after Lungu’s death, his party claims Longgu was banned from leaving the country for years and he might still be alive if he was allowed to travel early to seek medical treatment.
The government strongly denied any responsibility for Lungu's death, and spokesman Cornelius Mweetwa insisted that the former president was never banned from travel.
Mr Mweetwa told the BBC that the PF tried to use Lungu's death as a “springboard” for a “political comeback.”
This is not the first time that the Zambian leader has clashed since his death.
In 2021, the family of Kenneth Kaunda, the country's first post-independence president, said he wanted to be placed next to his wife, rather than a government-designated location.
Nevertheless, the government buried Jinda in the Embassy Memorial Park in Lusaka.
“The High Court ruled that national interests take precedence over individual or family preferences because there is a designated former presidential funeral and there is a designated set of agreements to deal with lawsuits conducted by the state rather than lawsuits conducted by political parties,” Mr Mweetwa said.
Arguments on the right to die in the state’s presidential body – played a role several times in Africa.
In 2019, Robert Mugabe was killed countless times by his former right hand, Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Mugabe's family refused to let him be buried on a national hero's acre, believing he had been betrayed by his former colleagues.
In Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe [Anadolu Agency via Getty Images]
After a painful dispute, the Zimbabwean independence man was taken to rest at his hometown funeral.
But there was a legal rumble at his burial site, and some still wished he was buried on the hero’s acres, where the mausoleum had been completed for him.
Relatives rarely win such disputes. José Doardodos Santos of Angola and the relatives of various presidents of Ghana clashed with the government in post-death arrangements, but ultimately had to succumb to the state.
In Longgu's case, the government owns the constitution – the highest law of the land – but the PF has a significant influence as a long-term political residence of former leaders.
To break the standoff, the government has sent envoys to South Africa for negotiations with Longu's family, where a private memorial service was held Tuesday at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Pretoria – organized by the PF.
It was attended by his widow and daughter and announced to the congregation that the body of the former president would not be sent home on Wednesday as expected.
Therefore, for Zambians, there is still no clear direction for how to send out the sixth president of the United States.
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