Political Analyst Doctor Lee Habasonda says the Zambian government is using symbolism over the late former President Edgar Lungu’s funeral.
The southern African country’s state and Lungu’s family are set to face off in the High Court in Pretoria, Gauteng province, South Africa (SA) this Thursday.
The Zambian government has filed a reconsideration application to challenge the recent urgent order in which the court directed it to return his remains to a private mortuary.
Lungu died in June last year at the age of 68 after he developed complications following surgery.
The order was granted on an urgent basis, just hours after the Zambian government executed the August 2025 High Court judgment that entitled it to repatriate his remains for the purpose of a state funeral and burial.
Habasonda says, “Governments around the world have defined roles in the funeral arrangements of former heads of state, including Zambia, particularly where state honours are involved. What may appear as reluctance to disengage by government can also be interpreted as an attempt to fulfil those obligations. Now, it is also true that when you have such an event like this one, it carries a symbolic meaning and I think both the government and supporters of Lungu are actually using symbolism over the funeral of President Edgar Lungu.”
–SABC–
