By EditorZambia
The latest attempt by some factions of the opposition Patriotic Front (PF) to push a narrative that the Zambian government is behind the actions of the South African Police Service (SAPS) to demand a postmortem process on the remains of former president Edgar Chagwa Lungu is not only reckless but a transparent political ploy designed to discredit the new dawn administration at any cost.
It is a familiar strategy built on insinuation, emotion, and repetition rather than facts. 
Information and Media Minister Cornelius Mweetwa has categorically rejected suggestions that government officials promoted or endorsed any poisoning claims or linked to the demand of a postmortem process on Edgar Lungu’s remains. According to the minister’s statement, the poisoning narrative did not originate from the State, but from members of the PF themselves, including the incarcerated PF Secretary General Raphael Nakachinda and members of the Lungu family. The minister’s clarification should have settled the matter. Instead, some ill-bent actors in PF have chosen to escalate the claim, ferreting half-truths and speculation to sustain a controversy that lacks credible foundation.
Let us separate facts from fiction. It is true that Mr. Lungu sought medical attention. It is also true that he was not transported to South Africa by the State. Those are verifiable facts. What is absent from the conversation is any credible medical report, independent confirmation, or substantiated evidence suggesting poisoning as cause of death. None has been presented. What has been offered instead is a politically convenient theory crafted to inflame supporters and manufacture outrage against the State.
The pattern of PF’s behaviour is predictable. When there is no compelling policy argument to advance, they create a crisis. When there is no evidence of wrongdoing, they manufacture suspicion. When governance is proceeding without scandal, they invent one. That is precisely what this poisoning narrative represents.
Minister Mweetwa has made it clear that government institutions did not circulate or validate such claims. He has warned against the dangers of spreading unverified information capable of misleading the public. In a charged political environment, irresponsible rhetoric can easily spiral into unnecessary panic. Former Heads of State are national figures whose health should not be exploited for partisan gain.
Those pushing this story appear less interested in Mr. Lungu’s dignified send-off but are more focused on scoring political points. If genuine concern existed, the conversation would revolve around medical transparency and respect for privacy, not inflammatory accusations. Instead, the narrative has been weaponised in public forums and on social media platforms to suggest sinister State involvement without a shred of proof.
Zambians must ask a simple question. Where is the evidence that ascertains President Lungu’s cause of death? No toxicology report has been presented. No doctor has stepped forward to confirm poisoning. No investigative authority has substantiated the PF’s claims. In the absence of facts, the accusations are baseless and thus hollow and can only be classified into what it is, political theatre.
The new dawn government has reiterated that responsibility for statements made in the public domain rests with those advancing them. That is an important reminder. Political actors can not hurl serious allegations into the national conversation and then evade accountability when challenged. Claims of poisoning are not minor gossip. They are grave accusations that, if true, would demand criminal investigation. If false-which they are, represent deliberate misinformation.
The opposition politics’ approach -fuelled by serial liars and anti-UPND elements reveals a troubling willingness to gamble with national stability for short term attention.
Zambia’s democracy is robust enough to withstand criticism and debate and what it cannot benefit from is the reckless recycling of unverified claims that erode public trust in institutions.
It is also worth noting that political exchanges surrounding Mr. Lungu’s death have become a recurring feature of the national discourse. Each development, whether routine or minor, is examined in the PF factory of lies and amplified into a dramatic confrontation. This strategy may generate headlines, but it does little to advance constructive political engagement.
Minister Mweetwa’s response underscores a broader principle. Public discourse must be anchored in verifiable information. Leaders, regardless of party affiliation, carry a responsibility to temper their words with evidence. Innuendo may energise a partisan base, but it weakens democratic culture.
There is a deeper concern at play. When serious allegations are normalised without proof, citizens become desensitised to truth. The line between fact and fabrication blurs, and that is a dangerous territory for any nation approaching important electoral milestones. Political competition should centre on ideas, policy performance and future plans, not conspiracy narratives as they desperate PF kachepa mill has been doing consistently.The UPND administration has maintained that its priorities remain policy implementation and national development and as such has no incentive to indulge in the kind of intrigue being alleged. Those insisting otherwise must shoulder the burden of proof because in democratic societies, accusations are tested by evidence, not emotion.
Ultimately, this episode serves as a reminder that Zambia’s political space demands maturity, and former leaders deserve respect. The poisoning narrative, as it stands, is a house built on sand because though it may generate noise, without substantiation, it cannot withstand scrutiny. The public should reject attempts by PF leaders to manipulate sentiment through unfounded claims and insist on facts over fiction.
In the end, the credibility of any political movement rests not on how loudly it accuses but on how convincingly it proves, and on this matter, proof remains conspicuously absent.
