Mumbi Phiri drags Hichilema into Lungu burial row with family claim

Former Patriotic Front deputy secretary general Mumbi Phiri has injected fresh intensity into the unresolved burial of former president Edgar Chagwa Lungu, delivering a pointed appeal to President Hakainde Hichilema that blended political pressure with a personal revelation about their relationship.

Phiri asserted that the connection between herself and the President extends beyond politics, stating that Hichilema is related to her through marriage and describing him publicly as her son-in-law. That disclosure gave her intervention unusual weight because it shifted the burial debate from a distant legal disagreement into a matter she framed as touching family honour, leadership responsibility and the historical memory of the nation.

Her message was delivered in unmistakably direct terms. Phiri urged Hichilema to act decisively to end the prolonged impasse surrounding the burial of the late president, arguing that the continued delay risks casting a long shadow over Zambia’s political legacy. She said the situation has reached a point where it cannot simply be treated as an administrative or legal dispute but has become a national question about how the country treats those who once held its highest office.

The former PF official argued that the burial dispute has stretched far beyond what many citizens consider acceptable. Nearly nine months after Lungu’s death, the country still lacks closure over the final resting place of the man who served as Zambia’s sixth Republican President. Phiri said that reality has unsettled many Zambians who expect former heads of state to be accorded prompt and dignified burials.

In her account, earlier plans to repatriate Lungu’s remains from South Africa had already been prepared by the family. She said logistical arrangements had been put in place, including securing an aircraft to transport the body. According to Phiri, those preparations began to unravel when conditions surrounding the repatriation were altered, creating uncertainty and mistrust around the process.

Phiri questioned several actions that she said contributed to the breakdown of those arrangements. Among them was the deployment of security personnel along routes where citizens traditionally gather to receive the remains of national leaders. She also criticised the introduction of invitation cards for people expected to attend events connected to the reception of the body, describing that practice as foreign to Zambia’s traditions of mourning former presidents.

To illustrate her point, Phiri recalled the funerals of Levy Mwanawasa and Michael Sata, when ordinary citizens were able to line the roads in large numbers to welcome their leaders’ remains home. Those events, she said, reflected a sense of national unity and shared respect for the office of the presidency.

By contrast, the circumstances surrounding Lungu’s burial have unfolded amid tension and unresolved disagreements. Phiri warned that the longer the matter continues, the greater the risk that it will become one of the most uncomfortable episodes in the country’s political history.

Her appeal to Hichilema carried both political and personal overtones. By invoking their family connection, Phiri framed the issue as one that transcends party rivalry. She argued that leadership is ultimately measured by the ability to rise above divisions and deliver decisions that restore dignity and closure to the nation.

Phiri suggested that the authority of the presidency provides the capacity to help bring the dispute to an end. She pointed to previous instances where presidential discretion had been exercised in complex national situations and said similar leadership could help resolve the burial issue.

The burial dispute formed the emotional centre of her remarks, but Phiri also used the moment to launch broader criticism of the government’s record. She questioned the performance of state institutions, challenged aspects of economic policy and expressed confidence that the political landscape could shift in the upcoming election.

Still, the unresolved fate of Edgar Lungu’s remains remained the dominant theme of her intervention. Phiri said the matter now carries implications not only for political leaders but for the country’s collective sense of respect and memory.

For her, the central question is simple yet powerful: how Zambia chooses to honour those who once led it. Phiri argued that the nation must ensure that its traditions of dignity are upheld, regardless of political differences.

Her appeal now adds a new layer to an already sensitive national conversation. By invoking family ties with the President while urging a resolution to the burial dispute, Phiri has placed the issue squarely within both the political arena and the personal realm of leadership responsibility.

Editors Note:

The prolonged burial dispute surrounding Edgar Lungu has become one of the most emotionally charged issues in Zambia’s current political climate, with calls for closure now intersecting with questions of leadership, legacy and national dignity.