Why bitter political feud has left former Zambian president unburied nearly a year after his death
Lungu’s family wanted to bury him in South Africa because of his bitter political rivalry with current Zambian leader Hakainde Hichilema (pictured).
Court stops burial of former Zambian President Lungu in South African an hour before funeral service
Edgar Lungu and President Hakainde Hichilema had a long history of political enmity in the southern African country. Lungu beat Hichilema in a 2016 presidential election, and his government imprisoned Hichilema for four months in 2017 on charges of treason because his convoy didn’t give way to the president’s motorcade on a road. The move to imprison Hichilema was widely criticized by the international community and Hichilema was released and the charges dropped.
