ECL SA burial on Wednesday?

…as Cabinet is said to be deeply divided on whether President Hichilema should not attend or preside over the funeral of former President Lungu as the family demands that the head of State should never be anywhere near the body of his predecessor as a pre-condition to repatriate the remains

By NATION REPORTER

PREPARATIONS for the burial of late former President Edgar Lungu in South Africa are almost completed with all the legal and administrative processes having been put in place for burial of the former head of State on Wednesday this week.
And it has been disclosed that Cabinet is deeply divided on whether President Hakainde Hichilema should attend the funeral and burial of his predecessor, former President Lungu after his family announced that it was the wish of the former President that his successor should not be anywhere near his body.
Former President Lungu’s family has demanded that President Hichilema should not attend or preside over the funeral of his predecessor as a pre-condition of repatriating the remains of the former head of State to Zambia.
Yesterday, President Hichilema told Ronald Ozzy Lamola, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa that it was the desire of the Zambian government that former President Lungu should not be buried anywhere else but Zambia.
However, John Sangwa, State Counsel said that there was no law in Zambia’s statutes that compelled a sitting President to attend or preside over the funeral of a former head of State and that the national mourning and State funeral were only courtesies and privileges, which could either be rejected or accepted.
And now, sources have said the burial arrangements for late President Lungu had advanced and that the former Zambian head of State would be put to rest in South Africa according to the wishes of the family who by law had the final say.
“The meeting between President Hichilema and the South African Foreign Minister will not affect the burial programme for our late former President Lungu. The government of South Africa has already granted permission to the family to bury the former President in that country. As far as we know, burial preparations are advanced and former President Lungu will be buried on Wednesday in South Africa,” the sources said.
And sources have also disclosed that a Cabinet Minister has complained that the death of former President Lungu and the insistence by President Hichilema to attend the funeral has left Cabinet deeply divided.
The sources said a Cabinet Minister has since reached out to the family of late former President Lungu, complaining that the Zambian government has been greatly embarrassed by the decision by the South African government to allow the family to bury Zambia’s former head of State in that country.
The sources have revealed that the Cabinet Minister disclosed that there was division in Cabinet as some Ministers have advised President Hichilema to consider abandoning his decision to attend former President Lungu’s funeral because it would be an abomination for the head of State to bulldoze his way to a funeral where he was not wanted.
The sources claimed that the Cabinet Minister yesterday reached out to the family of late President Lungu asking if they would consider repatriating the remains of the later former President should President Hichilema rescind his decision to attend the funeral and lead the body-viewing procession.
“There are deep divisions in Cabinet over the President’s insistence that he should attend the funeral of late President Lungu whether the family wants or not. What is true is that the UPND government is extremely embarrassed that the South African government has granted the request by the family to bury the remains in that country after providing financial assistance for medical bills as well as accommodation for the family,’ the source said.
“Now one Cabinet Minister today (yesterday) reached out to the family of late President Lungu pleading that government is extremely embarrassed with what is happening. The Cabinet Minister requested the family if they would consider to bring the remains of the former head of State to Zambia should President Hichilema change his mind not to attend the funeral,” it said.
The source said government had realized that the political mood in the country had been tensed by the sudden death of former President Lungu and the events that followed where an impasse was created after the family and the State failed to agree.