President Hichilema Ends National Mourning for Late President Edgar Lungu Amid Continued Deadlock with Family
Lusaka, 19 June 2025 — President Hakainde Hichilema has officially ended the national mourning period for the late Sixth Republican President, Mr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu, citing the need for national normalcy following a prolonged impasse with the Lungu family over repatriation and funeral arrangements.
In a solemn address to the nation, President Hichilema expressed deep gratitude to religious, traditional, and civic stakeholders for their guidance during the past two weeks of mourning. He thanked President Cyril Ramaphosa and the people of South Africa for their cooperation and empathy, and acknowledged the disruption endured by citizens and business owners across Zambia.
The Head of State confirmed that a consensus had been reached by 15 June in South Africa, paving the way for a state funeral and a dignified burial scheduled for 23 June. However, the family’s unexpected reversal on the agreed plan failing to avail the body on 18 June prompted the decision to bring the mourning period to a close.
Below is the full statement by President Hichilema:
Statement By Hakainde Hichilema, President of the Republic of Zambia
19th of June 2025
Fellow Citizens,
As we mark the 14th day since the demise of our 6th Republican President, Mr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu, we reflect on the past two weeks, not only as a period of mourning, but a time for healing, and indeed a test of our resolve as a peace loving and law-abiding nation.
We wish to begin by expressing our gratitude to the church, our traditional leaders and the citizenry for their moral and spiritual guidance during this time.
We also wish to thank our envoys, including our former Vice President Mr. Enock Kavindele, his Royal Highness Chief Mumbi, our Foreign Affairs Minister, the Secretary to the Cabinet, and all others involved in the search for a reasonable, inclusive and amicable resolution over the unfortunate impasse relating to the state funeral.
We express sincere gratitude to President Cyril Ramaphosa and the people of South Africa for their exceptional cooperation and compassion.
We acknowledge those citizens, including business owners, whose operations have been affected during this difficult time.
We thank you for your resilience, patience, solidarity and calmness during this time.As you are all aware, our government has made numerous efforts to engage the family and representatives of the late President, in order to reach consensus in this matter.
By last Sunday, 15th of June, a mutual understanding was achieved and was expressed through the joint press briefing in South Africa This breakthrough brought relief to the nation, and we were prepared to receive the remains of the late 6th Republican President on Wednesday, 18th of June.
It was agreed that this was to be followed by programmes that would have culminated in a dignified burial on Monday the 23rd of June.
By virtue of this positive development, we extended the mourning period by another 9 days, and we began to fulfil all of our commitments towards a state funeral with full honours.
Yesterday, June 18th, the people of Zambia were prepared to receive the remains of our former President but were surprised by the family’s reversal of the agreed course of action.
At our request, the South African Government prepared extensively, with military honours, mounted by the South African Defence Force, who did so in vain, as the former President’s body was not availed by the family for repatriation.
For this unfortunate situation, we extend our sincere apologies to President Ramaphosa, the Government, and the people of South Africa.
Fellow Citizens,
Our country cannot afford a state of indefinite mourning.
We have done everything possible to engage the family of our departed 6th Republican President, and we have reached a point where a clear decision has to be made.
Given these circumstances, I therefore wish to inform the nation, that as of the end of today the 19th of June 2025, this particular national mourning period is officially over.
This will allow the country to begin to return to some normalcy.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.In the meantime, we urge our citizens to maintain calm and orderliness.
As we have stated before, during this difficult time, no amount of lawlessness will be tolerated.
Let us remain united as a nation and maintain the peace we are known for.
In this spirit, we say to the Lungu family, and indeed the people of Zambia, our hearts remain with you.Our doors, as Government, remain open for further engagement, as appropriate.
May the soul of our departed former republican president, Mr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu, rest in eternal peace.
May God bless you all.
May God bless Zambia.
I thank you.
Indeed your works shall follow you.
Tell Tasila ati chifundo chasila! You can play people for a while but you cannot play people all of the time.
We Thank you for the work you’re rendering to the country
about time thank you Thank you
Just a real pity it’s left a huge stain on your legacy overtaking Loadshedding
A very wise decision Mr President.You gave them enough rope to hung themselves.Embarrasing even the host. government of South Africa
Let us now see coward Given Lubinda try to run a parallel government from PF secretariat
Good move sir the nation cannot be held hostage by some strange hysteria
So now that the national mourning has come to an end, can the family now bury ECL without the governments involvement, the further bally stays away from ecl the better, we Zambians despise pretence.
We the well wishers will mourn and bury ECL without the new dawns imingalato.
I’m breaker and I approve this message
Yes , bury in SA…..
FWD2041
Yes let them bury where they wish
Good move as in the distant future end up with HH again
What first comes to your mind when you hear …..FUNERAL HIJACKERS?
Message approved
Partly UPND
Breaket and Tikki stupidity
Good decision. Now they can bury him without the state. They got what they wanted.
I thought i was the only one….thank you HH…and am not even UPND….like i said some morons within PF are trying to use this funeral to get as much brown envelopes they can get….once again thank you HH…lets now get back to work
Forget the morons think of the family
Brown envelopes is rampant to this day
It’s about time
And it came to pass, the comeuppance for those dwelling in The Valley of Darkness…
@ Tikki
Yes looks like the family also was trying cash in this funeral…..i think HH did a very good job…he deserves credit….
Remember the standoff between Lungu and Guy Scott after Sata passed away….
Anyway let the government now start working on ending loadsheding and taking care of Zambians….and am 100% sure this is now the end of PF…….
Of course. We now know that Raula the HRC has more rights an influence than others. What goes around also comes around.
Thank you all. It was a pleasure to have been a follower and witness to this fiasco.
We support this Mr President, bravo. Let them do what they want.
Great decision, Mr. President. Many Zambians are with you on this.
@ Blago
You’re 100% right…i watched how PF mourners dispersed peacefully…that was a clear message that they sided with HH….looks like just a few rubble rousers within PF wanted the drama to continue…they don’t work anyway and this is how they get their brown envelopes…Nakachinda should be ashamed of himself together with Makebi Zulu and Sean Tembo…very childish
Now please use the money you were supposed to spend on Lungu’s funeral to buy medicine for clinics in Kanyama….Matero…Chibolya etc….instead of erecting a million dollar mausoleum
Once Politicians become sworn enemies…its game over….they will never genuinely reconcile….Kaunda and Chiluba became sworn enemies…Mwanawasa and Sata became sworn enemies…and some members within MMD caused Mwanawasa’s car accident….Rupiah Banda didn’t have any sworn enemy….Lungu and HH were sworn enemies
We hope the family find peace and solace in this difficult time ……..
The GRZ and the country want to work with you to give the late president a funeral befitting a president loved by many …..
Avoid people who are power hungry tarnishing the memory of the late ECL……
This was supposed to be a Solom time for mourning, not campaigning and political gimmicks
MHSRIEP
FWD2041
Its game over for all attention seekers…now don’t pay any attention to rubble rousers….lets develop Zambia…no more Partisan politics….
This was a test of approval for tasila to a lead over pf,but she failed the test
They spend millions of dollars erecting costly mausoleums to bury Presidents whilst people are dying because of lack of medicine in the Hospital….NO MORE EVACUATING POLITICIANS TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES FOR TREATMENT…..