Hakainde Hichilema (L) defeated Edgar Lungu (R) in the 2021 presidential election, the third time
The personal has become very political in Zambia.
Mourning and the build-up to a funeral is never an easy time but throw in the fallout from a long-standing feud between the country’s two top politicians – President Hakainde Hichilema and his now-late predecessor Edgar Lungu – and you have an explosive mix.
The animosity was such that Lungu’s family said one of his dying wishes was that Hichilema should not go anywhere near his body.
The row has scuppered government plans to honour the former head of state, created a distressing rift in the country and left people wondering how things got this bad.
Sunday was supposed to see the state funeral for the 68-year-old who governed for six years from 2015. But there will be no visiting dignitaries and the venue – a huge conference centre in the heart of the capital, Lusaka – will lie empty.
There was already a hint of possible trouble ahead immediately after Lungu’s death on 5 June, in the video message shared by his daughter on Facebook.
Dressed in a thick, black jacket and holding back tears, Tasila Lungu said that her father had died in a hospital in South Africa where he was being treated with “dignity and privacy”.
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