Former Zambian President Lungu to be buried in SA amid escalating stand-off » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 20 – Former Zambian President Edgar Lungu is set to be buried in South Africa, his family says, after President Hakainde Hichilema ended the National Mourning period amid an escalating stand-off.

According to the family spokesman Makebi Zulu, the private ceremony will be conducted in Johannesburg, South Africa.

“On behalf of the Lungu family, we wish to announce that the funeral and burial of our beloved Dr Edgar Chagwa Lungu will take place here in South Africa, in accordance with the family’s wishes for a private ceremony,” Zulu indicated in a statement.

It will be the first time a former head of state is buried outside his country.

The announcement adds to a list of controversies following Lungu’s death at a South African hospital.

Earlier, President Hakainde Hichilema abruptly ended the national mourning period in an escalating stand-off between the family and the authorities about his burial plans.

This was after a last-minute cancellation of the return of Lungu’s body from South Africa by his family on Wednesday, leaving the country uncertain about when and where the former leader will be buried.

In his address on Thursday evening, President Hakainde Hichilema announced an immediate end to the mourning period, saying the country needed to “resume normal life”.

Lungu died aged 68 in South Africa where he had been receiving specialized treatment for an undisclosed illness.