The Roman Catholic Church in Zambia has issued a strong call for the immediate burial of former President Edgar Lungu, warning that the prolonged impasse has traumatised the family and embarrassed the nation.
Speaking in a recorded video statement availed to Zambian Eye, Archbishop Ignatius Chama said the continued delay in laying the former Head of State to rest was unacceptable and had inflicted emotional distress on the bereaved family.
“You have traumatised the Edgar Lungu family and shocked the nation by this abhorrent behaviour,” Archbishop Chama said, in a direct rebuke of the United Party for National Development (UPND) administration under President Hakainde Hichilema.
The Catholic Church, through its leadership, said the ongoing standoff over the burial arrangements has now escalated beyond a private family matter into a national concern, warning that it risks eroding the country’s dignity.
Archbishop Chama stressed that the situation has not only caused anguish to the Lungu family but has also brought unnecessary attention and reputational damage to Zambia, calling for urgent resolution.
The development comes as the Zambian government is expected back in court to seek custody of the remains of the late former president, who died on June 5, 2025, in South Africa, with the matter of his burial still unresolved months later.