Veteran politician Vernon Mwaanga has criticised the family of late former President Edgar Lungu over the prolonged dispute surrounding his burial, saying they should have pursued private negotiations rather than a public standoff.
Drawing a Comparison to Kaunda’s Burial
Speaking on the Kenny T One on One podcast, Mwaanga questioned why Lungu’s burial arrangements became so contentious when a similar protocol had previously applied to founding President Kenneth Kaunda. He recalled that when Kaunda died, the Lungu administration itself had insisted Zambia’s first president be buried at the designated presidential burial site, despite the Kaunda family’s preference for a different location, with then-President Lungu explaining the position to Parliament as consistent with established protocol for former heads of state.
Mwaanga argued that if that principle applied to Kaunda, described as the father of the nation, there was no clear reason it should not equally apply to Lungu himself. He described the family’s decision to let the disagreement play out publicly, including through South African courts, as the wrong approach.
An Unresolved, Yearlong Dispute
The burial dispute has continued for more than a year since Lungu’s death on June 5, 2025, spanning South African court proceedings over who holds authority to determine his final resting place. Mwaanga called the prolonged impasse an embarrassment to Zambia and said the country should ensure a similar situation is never repeated.
