President Hakainde Hichilema delivered a televised address to the nation, calling for peace, unity, and compassion as Zambia continues to mourn the passing of its sixth President, Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu.
In his address broadcast live on ZNBC and streamed across various online platforms President Hichilema urged Zambians to set aside political differences and stand together in honour of the late leader.
“Let us use this solemn period to reaffirm our shared values — unity, peace, and love. Political differences should never breed hatred or division,” the President said.
The President extended condolences to Dr. Lungu’s family, members of the Patriotic Front (PF), and its supporters, appealing for national solidarity in their moment of grief.
“Now is a time to show compassion. Our humanity must shine above all else,” he stated.
President Hichilema reaffirmed his commitment to serve all citizens equally, regardless of ethnicity, region, or political affiliation. His message comes amidst heightened political tensions and circulating claims from some PF members regarding the circumstances surrounding Dr. Lungu’s death.
While calling for restraint, President Hichilema issued a stern warning against acts of provocation and public disorder.
“This Government will not tolerate any form of lawlessness or anarchy. But equally, I urge citizens not to be drawn into provocation or incitement,” he warned.
The President’s remarks follow concerns about inflammatory rhetoric and the politicisation of Dr. Lungu’s death, as highlighted earlier this week by Chief Government Spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa.
President Hichilema concluded his speech by calling on Zambians to reflect on the nation’s journey and recommit to the ideals of democracy, peace, and mutual respect.
“We must carry forward the values that unite us. Let us mourn with dignity and remember that we are, first and foremost, Zambians.”
Dr. Edgar Lungu, who served as President from 2015 to 2021, passed away on June 7, 2025. In his honour, a seven-day national mourning period was declared from June 8 to June 14.
I thought he died on June 5th and not June 7th?
Great and powerful message, Mr. President; wish it came earlier.
How can it be a powerful message without a way forward. There should have been some thing like we ask all of you to remain calm as we are still negotiating with the family over the repatriation of the remains
Procedure
– President appears on TV screen, National Anthem, asks the nation to take a minute of silence with him(it demonstrates his grieving with the nation), he sits down on a chair( being a solemn occasion) the way RB announced Mwanawasa’s death, standing may portray a combatant approach especially with the stand off, reads his speech. The good part is that he called for Unity, Peace, dignity and respect. And we should all follow what he advised.
Also let us remain united. I don’t support UPND but I agree with the President on his call for Unity. I saw one social post saying the speech did not give direction, I am sure that is being handled behind the scenes. There was one comment on social media which said that is not the speech we were waiting for, and he should have just sent a voice note, let us remain united
I thought his call for restraint from UPND cadres amidst provocation was not necessary as there has been provocation from both sides. Look at Matambo’s statement in the midst of national mourning saying we will hit back at people criticising the President because HH was arrested 17 times whilst in opposition or Mwaliteta’s and Liswaniso’s statements out of ignorance saying HH should bury the late President because it is constitutional when there is no such thing in the constitution.
Good message for unity though has
Come abit late as Zambians are impatiently waiting for a Break through in negotiations between the state and former presidents family. We hope and pray that this
Message will break the deadlock.
That speech was from a President finally putting his foot down and diplomatically showing everybody who is boss.There is noway a dead former President who was soundly beaten at the polls could now start dictating national affairs from a mortuary somewhere in South Africa
And I think it was not the deceased who made those absurd demands and telling the President of the Republic of Zambia not to attend a national event
The ball is now in Make I and Lubinda,’s cout.Natioal mourning ends 18:00hrs Saturday
It is fulls like you MuZambian who are diluting the Presidents well intended speech. Is it difficult to get a life for yourself?
He did what he had to do thankfully
After a shambbolic presidency,ECL’s greatest mistake was to turn back on his word and return to active politics describing himself as a serpent.Now,his head has been bruised by the same laws and system he sought to circumvent.He gambled away his presidential benefits and lost everything and the result is total distinction
No one else is to blame but himself and those who were pretending to be home on social media when the man was actually on his death bed
First of all, that clip was prerecorded. If you pay attention you can see where the cuts were. It wasn’t live.
Secondly, and most importantly, it was disappointing that HH did not address the elephant in the room. My expectation was that he would chat the way forward regarding the handling of the funeral, discussions with the family and the PF and giving us something that may be remiscent of a solution.
His speech showed there has been no attempt to mend things with the PF and the Lungu family. A huge disappointment to me.
……
Let’s get this embarrassing affair over and done with already………
It’s looks like PF want to use the body of the late president to arouse a PF milita………
On top of their unacceptable demands , they intend to parade the body to awaken the green army………
This must be seen as a threat to state security…….
We are here in solemn grief
FWD2031
Liar. Get a life Spaka. It is not too late
@Spaka
Where does Raphael Nakachinda work?….these are the morons creating unnecessary confusion…they used to eat breadcrumbs falling from Lungu’s dining table….now that Lungu is gone they’re trying hard to find a way of continuing eating and they’re now using the funeral
After a shambbolic presidency,ECL’s greatest mistake was to turn back on his word and return to active politics describing himself as a serpent.Now,his head has been bruised by the same laws and system he sought to circumvent.He gambled away his presidential benefits and lost everything and the result is total distinction
No one else is to blame but himself and those who were pretending to be home on social media when the man was actually on his death bed
This GRZ has certainly brought a new dimension to Zambian politics never seen before,
Hopefully the family will take his remains around the country for his loyal supporters and others to pay their last respects
“We are here in solemn grief” ??? and in the very next breath throwing out insults and accusations This is our Zambia today
It’s not insults and accusations, it is………
Current affairs dissemination at the highest level , something………
You are incapable of……..
No one who is perceived to be UPND will be allowed to attend that funeral, as if……..
UPND members did not pay tax during lungus presidency , taxes which fed him and his family…..
We are here in solemn grief
FWD2031
Even in death,ECL has proved not to be a unifier as claimed by that one.He ha not left us in peace.Hh is passionately pleading for peace and unity as we mourn our dear departed
And i always say we should find a way of getting rid of all Politicians in Zambia….no wonder we can’t even develop…its Politics 24/7….now even funerals are being Politicized…..and this is now officially the end of PF…..i don’t see them winning any election in the future starting from next year…..
And Neither will UPND when their time is up
and the only problem is us Africans
@Tikki
UPND might win next year because we don’t have serious opposition….but after HH….UPND will disintegrate……we need our own Ibrahim Traore to rescue Zambia….you see Politicians in the USA start wars and send other people’s children to go and die….they don’t send their families to war….now with Irran vs Isreal war….i think the world is in trouble
Politcs of hate and vengeance….and these are the results….and rubble rousers are now having a field day…..it looks like HH and Lungu were sworn enemies…and thats very sad….Let up put our differences aside and build Zambia…and build better Hospitals for all Zambians and stop Politicians from seeking the so called ” Specialized treatment ” in foreign land
Am not a big fan of HH but I think he is doing a good job trying to reach out to Lungu’s family….Politicians always go after each other even here in the USA….now Trump still wants to go after a sickly dementia stricken Biden……..Chiluba went after Kaunda….Mwanawasa went after his own friend Chiluba ….Sata went after Rupiah Banda
Well said president HH
The PF are turning this funeral into a PF political and milita revival exercise…….
No one who is perceived UPND will be allowed to attend , you saw them demanding none Tonga songs at their secretariat …..
This is all because the late president , PF and his family are not happy with the corruption and political violence investigations of the PF regime…….
We are here in solemn grief
FWD2031
We should be building bridges not walls
Mbuzis on the loose insulting
Even in death,ECL has proved not to be a unifier as claimed by that one.He ha not left us in peace.Hh is passionately pleading for peace and unity as we mourn our dear departed
This is the speech he should have made once his predecessor passed away. But just as with so many things gone to the left we have to live with who we have.
Bring on 2026 PLEASE
The Zambian Burial impasse on BBC Focus on Africa TV program just now. Unfortunately the Zambian on the interview called Arden Matafwali misled the interview by saying that Dr Kaunda wanted to be burried next to his wife in Chinsali, Northen province but his wish was contrary to the constitution. There is no constitutional provision on this issue please besides Mama Betty Kaunda is not buried in Chinsali but in state lodge in Lusaka. Point of correction