… issues apology to South African president, citizens…
In the aftermath of a feud between the family of the late Zambian former President Edgar Chagwa Lungu and the Zambian government, President Hakainde Hichilema has declared the mourning period over by advising the Zambians to return to normalcy.
This follows a standoff between the two parties after the family refused to repatriate the body of the former president to Zambia from South Africa on Wednesday.
There existed an agreement to repatriate the body to Zambia, with all necessary arrangements in place as a result of the Zambian government’s request to the South African government to have the South African Defence Force accord the body full military honours.
However, in a surprising development, Lungu’s family opted not to release the body and communicated that the former leader’s body would not be repatriated to Zambia until further notice.
This development forced Hichilema to end the mourning period, which had already been extended to nine days as the two parties were involved in talks to reach an agreement.
Announcing on Thursday, Hichilema described the decision by Lungu’s family as very unfortunate and apologised to the South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and his people.
He said, given the circumstances surrounding the funeral of Zambia’s 6th president, the country can not remain in a state of indefinite mourning.
“We have engaged the family of our departed 6th Republican president extensively, and we’ve reached a point where a clear decision must be made.”
According to the president, the declaration allows the country to begin returning to normalcy.
In response to renewed speculation about the late former President’s family planning to bury him in South Africa, Hichilema stressed that the former president’s connection to the Zambian people warranted his burial in Zambia
“Mr Lungu was not only an ordinary citizen, but our 6th Republican President.
“While we recognise that he belongs to a family, he also belongs to the nation of Zambia.
It is therefore correct that our 6th Republican President should be buried in Zambia with full honours and not in any other nation,” he explained.
Lungu passed away in South Africa two weeks ago.
