Changala Calls on President Hichilema to Release Lungu’s Remains

Changala Calls on President Hicilema to Release Lungu’s Remains

Human rights activist Brebner Changala has called on President Hakainde Hichilema to allow the family of the late former president Edgar Lungu to proceed with burial. He described the prolonged legal standoff as a moral issue requiring humility and leadership, and appealed to the country’s major church mother bodies to intervene.

Changala urged President Hichilema to “gather courage and some wisdom” to let the family lay the former head of state to rest. He argued that the ongoing court proceedings were preventing closure and risked deepening public divisions over the handling of state funerals.

“This is a moral issue. This is about governance with integrity,” Changala said. He criticised the government’s insistence on taking charge of Lungu’s burial, describing it as unnecessary and morally questionable.

Lungu died in South Africa on June 5, 2025, and his remains have remained there since as legal disputes over his burial continue. Changala stated that President Hichilema and the late former leader were never friends, and insisted that forcing a state funeral went against Lungu’s wishes and raised moral questions.

He claimed that the current administration’s approach to the burial was rooted in hostility and political malice. “Mr Hakainde, you are very, very aware that ECL was not your best human being that you would want to honour today, and it’s from that standpoint that you must not use this state funeral to extend the abuse of our former president. Let go,” he said.

Changala argued that Lungu died a sad man who was disrespected and vilified while alive, noting that the President and senior UPND figures consistently branded him a criminal. He accused the administration of using the state funeral to perpetuate humiliation.

“This is a president you never recognised when you were in the opposition. These are facts. This is a president, the leader of the opposition in the house, then, Mr Jack Mwiimbu, used to marshal his fellow MPs to walk out whenever he entered Parliament, and you never, not even one moment, punished any of your MPs,” Changala said.

He further stated that the administration had labelled Lungu a murderer in connection with several killings, arguing that this rhetoric has defined their relationship for years. Changala questioned why the President had not made any conciliatory public statements since Lungu’s death.

“You claim you want to give him a befitting burial and honour. Every right-thinking Zambian has come to realise that that is not the purpose of suing the family. The purpose is to humiliate ECL in death as you did it in his life. You have never made a statement since his death to apologise and show remorse,” he said.

Changala also appealed to the Zambia Council of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB), Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ), and the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) to intervene and meet the President to facilitate a resolution. He described the continued impasse as inhuman and unacceptable.

“The humiliation of ECL is historical, and it will be in people’s memories for many, many years to come,” he said.