Ten months after the death of former President Edgar Lungu, religious leaders have issued a direct and urgent call for the burial impasse to be resolved, as frustration deepens over a delay that continues without closure.
Bishop Solomon Mbulo, speaking in his capacity within the National Day of Prayer, Repentance and Fasting leadership, has urged both the government and the Lungu family to end the standoff. He described the situation as abnormal and warned that the prolonged delay is placing unnecessary strain on the country at a time when unity is expected.
The intervention by religious leaders marks a clear shift in tone. What had largely remained a drawn-out disagreement has now moved into a space of open national concern, with moral authority being applied to a matter that has remained unresolved for nearly a year.
Lungu died in South Africa, and since then, the question of his burial has remained unsettled. The absence of agreement between the family and the state has prolonged the process, leaving the country without closure on the passing of a former Head of State.
Ten months without resolution has turned what should have been a moment of dignity and finality into a prolonged impasse. The delay is no longer being viewed as routine disagreement. It is now being seen as a failure to conclude a matter of national significance within a reasonable time.
Mbulo said the country cannot continue in this state, calling for immediate dialogue and cooperation between the parties involved. He stressed that the issue has lingered far too long and must now be resolved in the national interest.
The call from religious leaders is not casual. It is grounded in concern over national cohesion, with emphasis placed on the need for reconciliation and closure. By stepping forward, the church has added moral pressure to a situation that has continued to drift without resolution.
The burial dispute has moved beyond private boundaries. It now carries weight in public sentiment, where the continued delay is increasingly viewed through the lens of leadership and responsibility. The longer the matter remains unresolved, the more it reinforces a sense of unfinished national business.
Religious leaders have linked their call to the Easter period, framing it as a moment for reflection, unity and decisive action. The timing adds significance, placing the issue within a period traditionally associated with reconciliation and renewal.
The intervention also signals that patience is thinning. What may have initially been approached with caution is now being addressed more directly. The language has shifted from concern to expectation.
The burial of a former president carries national weight. It is not only a family matter, but one that intersects with state responsibility and public sentiment. That balance has remained unresolved, and it is this failure to align positions that has prolonged the impasse.
With the country approaching a general election, the continued delay is drawing sharper attention. National issues that remain open tend to take on added significance during politically sensitive periods, and this one is no exception.
The longer the matter persists, the more it shifts from a logistical issue into a broader test of leadership. Questions are increasingly being asked about why a matter of this nature has remained unsettled for ten months, and what it says about the ability to resolve sensitive national issues.
Religious leaders have now made their position clear. The expectation is not for continued delay, but for resolution. The call is for both sides to engage, reach agreement and bring closure.
Ten months on, the burial of Edgar Lungu remains unresolved. What began as a disagreement has become a prolonged national impasse, now under direct pressure from religious leaders who are calling for it to end.
Ba mu sasampolo Makebi Zulu snd PF lunatics manipulated the all thing. Then ECL himself was doing business with the wrong cats. He must have screwed them.
Iwe buloshi bwamusango Shani ubu ulesupporter?
Where on earth has such a thing ever happened? Now everyone can only believe that you want to do satanic rituals over your rival’s dead body.
Whilst the burial for the former President carries national weight, the wishes of the deceased and the wishes of his immediate family come first. And this is the situation and norm every where in the world. The family has always wanted to bury ECL in Zambia but the people who were not even concerned about ECLs health and were not even talking to him, should now want to hijack the funeral service. Just how mwebanthu?
This is not the time it’s too early
This should be an election question to the head of state
We have heartless leaders, Dr Kaunda warned us but people are gullible and did not listen
KK, no respect for him. He took Zambians for granted and screwed us. I am not a politician, so no sugar coating. I stopped lining up on the street through the school system when he’s in town, and that’s time he still feared a lot but I was only 13 born with two balls.
What born with 2 balls coward. Why dont use your real name here if you have 2 balls one ball?
@Anti Cowards, can use my real name because cats like you are miserable, volatile, erratic, potentially dangerous individuals. Personal safety, privacy, and peace of mind are much more important than to me than you because I am a politician or public person, self made.
Nkhani yamalilo ni nkhani ya banja, si nkhani ya boma yayi. Boma ifunika kuthandizila chabe nomvela zimene abanja ifuna
But someone has inserted himself into the family. Come hail or sunshine he wants to stand over Lungu’s dead body. Why would I want to do that? That is not normal Someone must be doing midnight dances over this death.
The new UPND leader Peter Tembo Banda should help sort out this issue. He seems very logical, rational and level headed in his approach to issues so far
Gee! “very logical, rational and level headed”
He must be near extinct species. These are very much in the minute minority of Zambian politicians
Nkana PA Kitwe Has summed up up KK extremely well
He was no different to Kim Jon Un
Except he destroyes every industry we had
Tikki please. KK left us very strategic industries everywhere, we killed them using privatisation where some people who were involved with privatisation became stinking rich and some ended up buying those same companies in very questionable circumstances.
Destroyed? You must be very young. KK built all the Industries you rushed to privatize in 1991
Dr Kaunda was a great man, he had to do what was needed in that era, many people are educated because of him, we should be greatful
Kaunda left power, never fled to any foreign safeplace and you naysayers here never took him to any court. Unlike all his contemporaries who were taken to jails and gallows noone charged him for any theft.
Now that he has died some houseflies here claim to be heroes? Stopped lining up yakuti? We saw Chiluba, we never saw you Stop diverting the topic. The topic is the present not History.
This whole unfortunate burial saga was started by Edgar Lungu’s intense loathing of HH that he didn’t want him at his burial.
Now why do people keep attacking the symptoms rather than the disease itself?
If someone doesn’t want you at his funeral why force your way in? He doesn’t want your sympathy but you insist on giving it? if it is sympathy and not black magic. What do you lose if you’re not at his burial? Evil powers?
Right the problem is present day not our distorted history
Leave the destroyer where he belongs HISTORY
UPND has failed apa buta tutu
Lungu screwed up so bad such that he dissappear instead of the normal process kikikiki
It’s as if it’s one of those coffins refusing to be buried. Except he’s not from North Western. Unless from Mozambique. Birth certificate, death certificate, it’s all irrelevant as time moves on
Iwe Fuelgauge! I dont get it. You mean pa funeral ECL’s coffin could do Kikondo and start chasing HH? With all those soldier pallbearers? Perhaps we should just bury him here in Pretoria
Maybe the coffin will dance dununa reverse… Are you one of the people who can confirm it is ECLs body and not someone else like the Thabo Bester trick?
This burial issue was messed up from the beginning by selfish politicians who wanted sympathy support. The family was misled by these individuals. In Zambia, no one chases someone during the funeral. Even enemies are given chance to at least express remorse and even say good things even if they don’t mean it. No one is allowed to speak ill of the dead. Western civilization has really destroyed our culture.
Please put Dr. Lungu to rest; Let us respect the dead. One Zambia one Nation. God bless Zambia! Let us not let this dark cloud hang over our beloved country! Psalm 33:11-12, 2 Chronicles 7:13-14.
KK made his mistakes, but he had a heart for the people. Of all the head who came after him let them show what they have achieved. Free education was indeed free, he built industry, created and guaranteed jobs. but he overstayed and then the ones who believed in privatisation took to the helm….By the way where is the money that went into the Privatisation Trust Fund, I believe the Trustees are still alive…
Mbulo go and tell the thieving family to let government see the body and verify if it is indeed lungu in there then they can do as they please. Why all the secrecy? What are they trying to hide? As long as there are unanswered questions burial cannot take place.
Hh has failed to resolve this issue in 10 months. Other leaders have solved similar issues. There is no excuse for this failure.
How has he failed when the majority are not even Lungu who went to SA on fake names might not even be dead.
Failed how? Trya reading and comprehension.
The South African courts have ruled in the Governments favour so far. Even South Africans are questioning the rarionality of the family and dont want ECL buried in South Africa. And you want to suggest what? Be rational be objective.
Besides we have yet to prove that the utterances of the family are factual. If anything Fuelgauge could be right?