By Lonwabo Mtyeku – July 2025
The controversy sparked by former Zambian President Edgar Lungu’s visit to South Africa has taken a dramatic and somber turn. What began as a diplomatic puzzle — raising questions around protocol and accountability — has now become a deeper reckoning following Lungu’s unexpected death in Pretoria. The incident, and the ensuing political and legal clashes, have brought South Africa’s diplomatic integrity into sharp focus, exposing cracks in the continent’s largest democracy’s handling of sensitive interstate relations.
Lungu’s Visit: Private Affair or Political Statement?
In June 2025, Edgar Lungu surfaced in South Africa under circumstances that caught both Lusaka and Pretoria off-guard. Officially framed as a private visit, Lungu’s presence in Johannesburg—marked by discreet meetings with political figures—was interpreted by many in Zambia as a veiled political maneuver. The former president had been battling legal pressure at home, including allegations of corruption and ineligibility to run in the 2026 elections.
While South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) maintained that his visit had no formal diplomatic status, the lack of transparency fuelled speculation. Had Lungu received unofficial political backing in South Africa? Was the country unknowingly—or perhaps knowingly—offering sanctuary to a politically embattled leader?
A Sudden Passing and Its Ripple Effect
Before clarity could be achieved, events took a tragic turn. Edgar Lungu died on 5 June 2025 while undergoing treatment in a Pretoria hospital for complications related to a rare esophageal disorder. He was 68.
The news stunned the region. For supporters, his death marked the end of a chapter in Zambian history; for critics, it closed the door on a divisive but significant political figure. But far from settling tensions, his passing ignited a new storm — this time over his final resting place.
A Funeral Becomes a Political Battlefield
Shortly after his death, a bitter dispute erupted between the Zambian government and Lungu’s family. Lusaka insisted on repatriating his body for a full state funeral, citing national tradition and constitutional obligation. His family, however, asserted that Lungu had explicitly wished for a private burial in South Africa, free from political pageantry — and in particular, without the attendance of President Hakainde Hichilema.
The standoff culminated in a Pretoria High Court order halting the scheduled Johannesburg burial just hours before it was to take place. The court set a hearing date of 4 August to determine jurisdiction and resolve the funeral dispute, leaving Lungu’s remains in limbo and straining cross-border relations further.
In the interim, Zambia’s declared 12-day national mourning period was abruptly shortened as tensions escalated. Some of Lungu’s children were reportedly denied exit visas to attend ceremonies in South Africa, adding emotional weight to the already politicized atmosphere.
Diplomatic Integrity Under a Cloud
These developments have brought South Africa’s diplomatic posture under renewed scrutiny. A nation long seen as a regional anchor of democracy, rule of law, and peace mediation now faces uncomfortable questions:
- Why was a politically sensitive visit not properly managed?
- Did Pretoria violate unwritten norms of neutrality by hosting a former head of state under legal scrutiny?
- And how should the state balance respect for a foreign government’s authority with humanitarian and legal considerations surrounding a deceased figure?
For some observers, the affair echoes the al-Bashir debacle of 2015, when South Africa failed to arrest the Sudanese leader—wanted by the ICC—during a visit, allowing him to flee the country in defiance of a High Court order. While the Lungu case is less clear-cut, it exposes a pattern of ad hoc diplomacy, where principles yield to political expediency or factional interests.
A Complex Legacy
Edgar Lungu’s legacy remains as contested in death as it was in life. As Zambia’s sixth president, he presided over ambitious infrastructure developments and initially supported constitutional reforms. But his second term became mired in accusations of democratic backsliding, economic mismanagement, and political suppression. His re-emergence in 2023 as a political force was short-lived, cut down not by the courts or the ballot box—but by his health.
His desire for a burial away from the political theater of Lusaka may have been personal, but it has become profoundly symbolic of the unfinished business he left behind — and the unresolved diplomatic questions it poses for the region.
Lessons and Warnings
The Lungu affair has highlighted the urgent need for:
- Clear protocols for receiving politically exposed foreign nationals, especially those under legal investigation.
- Coordinated intergovernmental frameworks for handling cross-border dignitary deaths and funerals.
- A reaffirmation of South Africa’s commitment to transparent and principled foreign policy.
It has also opened the door to an overdue conversation about how African states treat former leaders — not only in life, but in death. Should dignity and due process outweigh politics? Or do political realities forever dictate how history is written, and how legacies are laid to rest?
Conclusion
In many ways, Edgar Lungu’s final days in South Africa serve as both a mirror and a warning. A mirror reflecting the shifting sands of Southern African diplomacy—and a warning about the reputational cost of blurred lines and unchecked protocol.
His passing has drawn a continent’s attention to the fragility of legacy, the complexity of sovereignty, and the delicate art of diplomacy in an increasingly interconnected region. South Africa now finds itself at a crossroads: will it rise to reassert its leadership role in African affairs with integrity, or continue to muddle through moments that demand moral clarity?
Only time—and history—will decide.
