Former Zambian President Edgar Lungu who died in 2025 is yet to be buried more than nine months later.
Lungu, died aged 68 on June 5, 2025 in South Africa while undergoing treatment for cardiac complications related to an undisclosed illness.That means he has been dead for about nine months without a burial. Some are even questioning if he is really dead.
His body is currently being kept in a mortuary in South Africa because there is an ongoing dispute between his family and the Zambian government over his burial.
The family wants a private burial, while the government wants him buried at a national burial site reserved for former presidents.
They family has also made it clear that it does not want the current Zambian president to attend the funeral.
Lungu, who led Zambia for six years from 2015 was defeated by Hakainde Hichilema in 2021 elections.
Hichilema’s government wants his remains to be repatriated and given a state funeral, with full state honours – and a South African court ruled in their favour in August 2025.But the family wants a private burial in South Africa as they say the former president had not wanted Hichilema to attend his funeral.
