Family members say the Zambian president does not want to attend the funeral of his ex.

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Family members say the Zambian president does not want to attend the funeral of his ex.

A family spokesman said former Zambia president Edgar Lungu died last week and his successor Hakainde Hichilema “should not be near his body”.

This is the latest development in the funeral plan for the late president who died in South Africa at the age of 68.

The government plans to send the body home on Wednesday, but it has not done so due to controversy with Longu’s family and his party, the Patriotic Front (PF).

The two leaders are long-standing political rivals, and Hichilema defeated Longu in the 2021 general election after five attempts.

Lungu died of an undisclosed illness, but PF said last week that he received “professional treatment” in South Africa.

PF claims Lungu was banned from leaving the country for many years and he may still be alive if he is allowed to travel early to seek medical treatment.

The government denied the allegation.

Zambian Foreign Minister Mulambo Haimbe, one of the government officials, flew to South Africa on Wednesday to meet with Lungu’s widow Esther and his influential daughter Tasila to break the deadlock for what happened next.

The government hopes to give Lungu, who convened Zambia between 2015 and 2021, a national funeral.

Lungu family spokesman Makebi Zulu had previously told the BBC that the family did not object to this, but it hopes to have a say on who will host the service.

However, in a video released from South Africa on Thursday, Mr Zulu said the family had established “all logistics” to fulfill Longu’s wishes and hoped to get a private funeral, and that Hichelema” should not be near his body.

Mr Zulu added that the government acted as if the family had “no say” about his funeral and the way he should mourn.

He said this was a family’s wish that “the conscience of the dead should not betrayed.”

Heimbe said in response that while the family who lost their loved ones made a wish, Longu’s funeral involved all Zambians because he was the former president.

“I’m sure we all want to provide the right dispatch for our former president, and that’s what we have to work towards,” the foreign minister told the local journalist.

In an earlier statement, the government said that the “constructive consultation” was continuing with Longu’s family to ensure a “smooth repatriation” of his body.

The dispute has caused sorrow and confusion among Zambians who are not clear about how to mourn the former president.

The government announced a seven-day national mourning period that began last Saturday, even though the PF announced a day ago.

The official venue for the government to announce mourning will be its cottage owned in the capital Lusaka, but the PF rejected the plan and instead directed the mourners to its headquarters.

Constitutional lawyer John Sangwa told the BBC that the tug-of-war stressed the need for Zambia to propose a law outlining funeral arrangements for the president and the former president, but he believes that ultimately the wishes of the family should be respected.

After Lungu lost his 2021 election, he stepped back from politics, but later returned to the battlefield.

He remains the biggest political attraction of PF, and he has the ambition to compete for the presidency again.

But at the end of last year, the Constitutional Court banned him from running, ruling that he had appointed two terms allowed by law.