The family of Zambia’s former President Edgar Lungu has halted the return of his body from South Africa, accusing the government of breaching key agreements over his funeral.
The arrangements had been finalised and his remains were due to be flown back home on Wednesday on a private charter plane after days of uncertainty and negotiations between the family and the government.
But the family has now stopped that plan, saying it “finds it very difficult to believe that the government will stick to their end of the agreement”.
“Sadly so, that the mortal remains of President Edgar Chagwa Lungu will not return today,” family spokesperson Makebi Zulu said on Wednesday.
Mr Zulu said the government had released a draft programme of the funeral, without consultation with the family.
President Hakainde Hichilema was scheduled to receive the body upon its arrival at the airport in the capital, Lusaka.
The former president’s body was set to be taken to his residence in Lusaka where it would lie in state ahead of his state funeral on 22 June and burial the following day.
In an address from South Africa on Wednesday, Mr Zulu said the government had deviated from the agreed programme.
“It is our hope that some day, his remains will be repatriated back home and buried,” said Mr Zulu, who was surrounded by members of Lungu’s immediate family.
In a statement, the government said it remained open and committed to “re-engagement until an amicable resolution is achieved”.
“The government will continue its consultations with the family, mindful of the need to accord our late former president the honour commensurate with his office and service,” it added.
The delay marks the second time the family has refused to repatriate the body, as tensions continue to grow between it and the government over who should control the funeral arrangements.
The opposition Patriotic Front (PF), which Lungu led until his death, has supported the family’s stance and accused the government of politicising the mourning process.
Lungu, who led Zambia from 2015 to 2021, died earlier this month in South Africa where he was receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness.
A 16-day national mourning period is currently in effect across Zambia.
According to his family, he had left instructions that President Hichilema, his long-standing rival, “should not come anywhere near his body”.
But this was apparently resolved after a deal that allowed for Hichilema to preside over a state funeral next Sunday.
After six years as head of state, Lungu lost the 2021 election to Hichilema by a large margin.
After that defeat he stepped back from politics but later returned to the fray.
He had ambitions to vie for the presidency again but at the end of last year the Constitutional Court barred him from running, ruling that he had already served the maximum two terms allowed by law.
Despite his disqualification from the presidential election, he remained hugely influential in Zambian politics and did not hold back in his criticism of his successor.
Last year, Lungu complained of police harassment and accused the authorities of effectively putting him under house arrest. He also said he had been prevented from leaving the country. The government denied both accusations.
