Fellow citizens, as we mark the 14th day since the demise of our sixth Republican President, Mister 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 difficult time. We also wish to thank our envoys, including our former vice president, Mister 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, unamicable 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 indeed, 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, the 15th of June, a mutual understanding was achieved and expressed through the joint press briefing held in South Africa. This breakthrough brought relief to the nation, and we were prepared to receive the remains of the late sixth Republican president on Wednesday 18th of June. It was agreed that this was to be followed by programs 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 nine days, and we began to fulfill all of our commitments towards the state funeral with full owners yesterday, yesterday, June 18, the people of Zambia were prepared to receive the remains of our former president, but we are surprised by the family’s reversal of the agreed cause of action at our request, the South African government prepared extensively with military owners mounted by the South African Defense Forces, who did so in vain, as the former president body was not about by the family for repatriation to Zambia.

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 m. We’ve done everything possible to engage the family of our departed sixth Republican president, and we’ve reached a point where a clear decision had to be made, Given these circumstances, I therefore wish to inform the nation that the 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. Mister Lungu was not only an ordinary citizen, but our sixth Republican president. While we recognize that he belongs to a family, he also belongs to the nation of Zambia, it is therefore correct that our sixth Republican president should be buried in Zambia with full honors, 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 over a departed, former Republican President, Mister Edgar chavolongo Resting eternal peace. May God bless you all. May God bless, Zambia, I thank you.