Lungu's death 'should not be used in a PR stunt by the Zambian government'

Makebi Zulu, the spokesperson for the family of the late former Zambian president Edgar Lungu,  has accused the Zambian government of using Lungu's death and funeral arrangements as a publicity stunt.

On Wednesday, the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria halted the funeral plans to bury Lungu after an urgent court application filed by Zambian officials to stop the scheduled private ceremony by the family, which was set to take place on the same day.

The Zambian government wanted full control of the former president's funeral arrangements, including the repatriation of his body.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Zulu said taking Lungu's body to Zambia would not give him a dignified funeral.

“The family has been consistent. He mattered to the family when he was president, he matters to the family now,” he said. “The family only wants to give him a dignified burial, not one that’s shrouded in mockery, PR and giving the international community a perception that he was properly treated when in fact not.

“His death should not be used as a PR stunt by the government of Zambia.”

Lungu died in a South African hospital on June 5 at the age of 68. He was receiving specialised treatment at a medical centre in Pretoria after suffering from a rare disorder that caused a narrowing of the food pipe, for which he had been treated in South Africa before.

This is six months after his attempt to return to politics was curbed by a court ruling that he could not run for office again.

Zulu claimed Lungu was not treated well by the Zambian government, saying that the court processes would give the family an opportunity to tell the truth about how Lungu was treated.

“Maybe this time around Edgar has refused to go down to the soil without the truth being told. Now onwards until his burial, the truth of Edgar shall be told, and we shall tell it in a very systematic way.

“That story shall be told in court, and evidence shall be brought before the court that will exonerate President Edgar and his family. This is an opportunity we shall take with both hands and tell the story of Edgar.”

He said Lungu was brought to South Africa as private citizen and wasn't given the privileges of a government official.

“We shall tell the full story in court. How he came into South Africa as a private citizen, how that he came on a commercial flight, flying economy, walked through security clearance, walked through immigration like a normal person, waited for an Uber outside the airport. Is that the life of a former president? Certainly not.”

Lungu took over the Zambian presidency in 2015 after former president Michael Sata died. After taking office, Lungu embarked on legislative reforms which were seen as progressive, including amending the constitution to reduce the power of the president.

He won a presidential election in 2016 that gave him a five-year term in office. But shortly before it ended, he tried and failed to reverse the constitutional changes he had made.

Zulu called on the Zambian government to apologise for not treating Lungu well when he was alive.

“Decency requires that the government should say 'we are sorry we never treated him well. We are sorry we did wrong to him. Now that he’s dead how can we make amends?'

“No-one spoke for Edgar when he was alive and now people want to pretend to speak for him when they were never there for him in his lifetime,” said Zulu.