SIXTH President of the Republic of Zambia Edgar Chagwa Lungu has died.
Mr. Lungu, who was the only surviving former Republican President, died in a South African hospital early this morning. He was 68.
Patriotic Front (PF) vice president Given Lubinda confirmed the death of Mr. Lungu in a media statement. 
According to Mr. Lubinda, the former head of State, had been receiving specialised treatment at Medforum Clinic Medical Centre in South Africa for an undisclosed illness.
“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of His Excellency Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu, Sixth President of the Republic of Zambia, who departed this morning at 06:00hours” said Mr. Lubinda.
The news of the death of Mr. Lungu has sent shockwaves among the Zambian people, following repeated claims by former ruling party senior officials that the former president was doing well and not receiving any medical attention.
Some senior PF officials, including Tonse Alliance leaders, have repeatedly denied that the former president was not unwell.
They insisted that the former president was not sick and that he was in South Africa on holiday. By doing so, the former ruling party deprived Zambians of the opportunity to pray for their former leader, who was undergoing specialised treatment in South Africa.
Tonse Alliance spokesperson Sean Tembo and the apparent self-appointed spokesperson for Edgar Lungu claimed in April that the former Head of State was merely undergoing tests in South Africa.
The former ruling party doesn’t learn from its past mistakes. Events surrounding former President Michael Sata’s health in 2014 were similar. The PF kept Mr. Sata’s health status as a secret, hiding him from public view.
On May 25th, during the African Freedom Day celebrations, President Sata appeared frail, fueling speculations about his health. His absence at the official opening of Heroes Stadium further fueled rumours about his poor health.
The PF government was criticised and condemned for spreading misinformation regarding the president’s health.
PF mafias hid Mr. Sata from public eye, including his vice president Guy Scott, who never saw his friend for months. This is according to the former vice president Guy Scott in his hard-hitting political memoir “Adventure in Zambian Politics, A Story in Black & White”
Mr. Scott, a putative close friend of Mr. Sata takes the reader of his book inside the presidential bedroom where he found Mr. Sata was very sick and bedridden, and yet the nation, including himself as vice president, was not told.
For six months, Mr. Sata never appeared in public. He only appeared during the official opening of Parliament, looking worn out, frail, and had lost weight, but the PF remained silent.
Zambians deserved to know the truth regarding former President Edgar Lungu’s health because he was a State property and not just a PF leader.
