HH Drove Lungu from State House… Now He’ll Drive H...

HH Drove Lungu from State House… Now He’ll Drive Him in the State Hearse

From eviction to embalming, Zambia’s president’s win of the final round in a very literal power struggle may not be the victory he imagines

Zambia’s political theater took a macabre twist this week when a South African court ruled that the late former president Edgar Lungu’s body belongs to the state, not his family. President Hakainde Hichilema had insisted on a state funeral, while Lungu’s relatives wanted a private burial. The court sided with HH, effectively telling the family their wishes were irrelevant—the former head of state is state property, even in death.

It’s a ruling that echoes a long tradition of graveside power struggles across the globe, where the final resting place becomes a political, financial, and symbolic battleground.

Mugabe’s Frozen Farewell

Zimbabwe’s own Robert Mugabe spent weeks lying in state—literally—as the government raced to build a grand mausoleum at the National Heroes Acre. His widow, Grace Mugabe, reportedly kept the body on ice for over three weeks while the construction was hastily pushed through. But in a dramatic twist, Mugabe was ultimately buried in his rural home of Zvimba, not in the mausoleum meant for him. The empty structure remains as a concrete monument to political miscalculation.

Pharaohs and the Economics of the Afterlife

Even in ancient times, power struggles over the dead were common. Egyptian pharaohs built colossal tombs to cement their eternal glory, only for most to be looted by grave robbers—their treasures, and sometimes their mummies, ending up in foreign museums. in the same way that Mugabe's body could still be exhumed and sent to his mausoleum so taxpayers can get their investment back. Or Lungu's family could win a fresh battle and reclaim their body.

The Economics of the Grave

Control over a high-profile burial site isn’t just symbolic — it could be profitable. Grace Mugabe reportedly wanted a tourist shrine for her late husband, akin to Lenin’s Mausoleum in Moscow, which attracts millions of visitors. Che Guevara’s tomb has become a fixture in Cuba’s heritage tourism.

Or Ghost of Rivals Past?

Which leaves this goat scratching its beard at HH’s insistence on controlling Lungu’s burial. Is he afraid of creating a pilgrimage site out of his control? Does that mean a whole head of state is scared silly of ghosts?

Village Wisdom

The grave does not contain the spirit. If the Lungu family were here, we would whisper to them to stay away from HH’s state shindig. Ngavamuramwire chitunha! Let him dare bury an African without those of his blood telling his spirit to rest!