NEWS ANALYSIS | The Lungu Funeral Theatre

Tasila Lungu’s Crisis: The Collapse of a Carefully Scripted Farewell

By Dorrothy Moyo | The death of former Zambian President Edgar Chagwa Lungu was expected to trigger a solemn, dignified period of national mourning. Instead, it has unfolded into a constitutional and diplomatic theatre — one that now centres around his daughter, Tasila Lungu, and a series of decisions that have left the public confused, the state sidelined, and the nation in disbelief.

From the moment the late president’s body remained grounded in South Africa instead of returning to Lusaka, speculation began to mount. That speculation has now snowballed into full-blown crisis. Reports emerging from both Lusaka and Johannesburg confirm that Tasila Lungu lacks a legal burial permit to inter her father in South Africa, a stunning twist that raises serious questions about planning, motive, and the legality of her actions.

What Exactly Is the Crisis?

The funeral of a former head of state is a matter of national dignity, not private discretion. Yet Tasila Lungu appears to have seized unilateral control over the process. Five key failures now define this standoff:

1. National Mourning Cancelled: What should have been a unifying period of grief was abruptly paused due to the family’s refusal to cooperate with state procedures.
2. Public Confidence Eroded: Many Zambians are now asking whether this is about grief — or political control.
3. No Public Viewing of Edgar Lungu’s Body: A sitting or former president is traditionally honoured with a public body viewing. This was blocked.
4. No Burial Permit in South Africa: The absence of legal authorisation to bury Lungu in a foreign country is not just irregular — it’s potentially unlawful.
5. No Official Death Certificate: Without this document, questions about jurisdiction, burial rights, and diplomatic clearances remain unresolved.

What’s Behind Tasila’s Strategy?

There are two possible interpretations of her endgame:

• One, she is driven by personal grief and a deep mistrust of the current Zambian government, believing they may exploit her father’s death for political mileage.
• Two, she is executing a Plan B — a strategy to keep control of Lungu’s narrative posthumously. By denying the state the opportunity to stage a national funeral, she ensures the legacy of her father is framed through the Lungu family’s lens, not that of President Hakainde Hichilema’s government.

But this strategy may have backfired. In attempting to shield the late president from the state, Tasila has now effectively denied him the dignity of a legal, orderly, and honourable burial. The absence of permits and documentation, compounded by an international legal deadlock, has trapped Edgar Lungu’s remains in a bureaucratic limbo.

Political Fallout

The spectacle has damaged more than just the Lungu family’s public standing — it has eroded faith in Zambia’s institutional ability to separate personal grief from public duty. Tasila, once seen as a disciplined and promising political figure in her own right, now finds herself branded as impulsive and obstructive.

In the eyes of the state, and many observers, this isn’t just a misstep — it’s a hijacking of national protocol.

What Happens Next?

South African law is clear: no one can bury a foreign national on its soil without a permit, cause of death confirmation, and diplomatic clearance. The Lungu family now faces three choices:

• Return the body to Zambia for a state-facilitated burial;
• Engage South African authorities for emergency processing (which is unlikely given current tensions);
• Or continue holding the remains indefinitely — a grim scenario that only deepens the crisis.

Conclusion

What was meant to be a farewell befitting a former head of state has become a legal, moral, and political standoff. Tasila Lungu’s attempt to control the narrative has backfired badly — leaving Edgar Lungu’s legacy suspended in both life and law, as the warnings of Human Rights Watch Director Dewa Mavinga being recalled. The HRW Director warned that the Lungu’s would play shenanigans bent on human rights disregard towards the next election.

Was this truly Plan B? Or a plan gone dangerously wrong?