….“The dead are not ours to use; they belong to history.”— Hannah Arendt
By EditorZambia
There are moments in a nation’s life when politics must pause, when dignity must override ambition, and when culture must stand taller than political party slogans. 
The unresolved burial of former President Edgar Lungu should have been one such moment.
Instead, it has degenerated into a disturbing political spectacle, one in which Patriotic Front (PF) acting president Given Lubinda has chosen to play a starring role.
A recent viral video of Lubinda leading party members in song during a campaign for the PF Chawama by- election candidate, shamelessly insisting on Edgar Lungu being buried, ought to trouble even the most loyal party supporters.
Lubinda’s action is not mobilisation rooted in principle; it is mobilisation rooted in manipulation. It is the reduction of a former Head of State’s remains into a campaign prop, deployed not for honour, but for political survival.
Lubinda’s actions betray not only poor judgment but a deeper desperation. The PF is struggling to find relevance after electoral defeat in 2021, the recent passing of Bill 7, continued internal fragmentation, and sustained public rejection.
Lubinda himself is presiding over a political party that is neither united nor convincing and whose leadership has failed to inspire confidence beyond recycled rhetoric.
Unable to offer a compelling alternative vision, the PF’s leadership has instead clutched at grief, hoping sorrow can substitute strategy.
Senior Chief Nyalugwe of the Nsenga people in Eastern Province has courageously said what many Zambians have been whispering: that the PF, particularly members of the former first family and their new political front man Makebi Zulu, are boldly exploiting Edgar Lungu’s funeral for cheap political mileage. This is not the voice of partisan rivalry; it is the voice of culture, restraint, and truth.
At a time when the nation should have been allowed dignified closure, Zambia has instead been dragged into six months of uncertainty, drama, and political theatre. The traditional ruler’s reminder is both sobering and damning: when President Michael Sata died, Edgar Lungu did not turn the funeral into a campaign platform. He waited. He respected tradition. He honoured the dead before seeking political advantage. That precedent stands in stark contrast to what we are witnessing today.
Let us be clear about where responsibility lies. The so-called “impasse” with government is not a product of State hostility. It is a creation of the Lungu family— former furst lady Esther Nayawa Lungu, Tasila Lungu—and their lawyer turned politician Makebi Zulu. They have chosen confrontation over closure, drama over dignity, and delay over decency. No amount of protest songs, slogans, or choreographed outrage can change that fact.
Yet instead of exercising restraint, Given Lubinda, of all people, has continued to amplify this charade. Rather than counselling sobriety, he has taken to the streets, to rallies, to songs, turning a burial into a political chant. This is not leadership; it is opportunism. It is an attempt to breathe life into a political party that has failed to reinvent itself and to mask a leadership that has generated more fatigue than enthusiasm.
Lubinda must also confront an uncomfortable truth: Edgar Lungu’s burial will not resurrect the PF, and it will not rehabilitate his own embattled standing in a political party where members are questioning his parentage. Zambians are not confused. They can distinguish between genuine mourning and calculated mobilisation or any other similar political buffonery. They can see that the PF is trying to keep Edgar Lungu politically alive because it has failed to produce a credible post-Lungu identity through both condemnation of Bill 7 and adherence to the Oasis Forum.
The sudden political elevation of Makebi Zulu only deepens suspicion. How does a lawyer with no national electoral record suddenly become presidential material? Why now? Why through a funeral? The answer is obvious. Certain PF factions are searching for a new face to front old interests, and the prolonged funeral has become the launchpad for that experiment. It is cynical, transparent, and deeply disrespectful.
A funeral is not a bargaining chip. It is not a rally. It is not a rebranding exercise for political hopefuls or a distraction from leadership failure. Culture demands burial. Decency demands closure. The nation demands better.
Senior Chief Nyalugwe has spoken with clarity and courage. He has reminded us that this behaviour is uncultural, un-Zambian, and unworthy of the legacy the PF claims to defend. His call is simple: bury the former President and allow the country to heal.
Given Lubinda should listen. He should stop hiding behind songs and slogans. He should stop weaponising grief to compensate for political weakness. He should stop dragging the nation into a prolonged, unnecessary spectacle that serves only narrow interests.
Zambia has moved on. The PF must either move with it or have the humility to mourn in silence, not dance on a coffin in the hope of political resurrection.
One would think Lubinda’s actions are sort of abominabtles
Catholic Bishops Alick Banda and Ignatius Chama should be condemning. Where are they now?
