FORMER Zambian President Edgar Lungu is dead.
He passed away on Thursday, June 5, while receiving treatment at a medical centre in South Africa. He was 68.
The news of his death was contained in a statement issued by his daughter, Tasila Lungu, shared on his late father’s political party – the Patriotic Front’s – Facebook page on Thursday.
“Fellow Zambians, It is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of His Excellency Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu, who departed this morning at 06:hours at Medforum Clinic, a medical centre in South Africa. My father, President Lungu, had been under medical supervision in recent weeks” she wrote.
Tasila, a member of parliament in Zambia, said that Lungu’s condition was managed with dignity, with support from well wishers.
“In this moment of grief, we invoke the spirit of “One Zambia, One Nation” – the timeless creed that guided President Lungu’s service to our country” she added.
She noted that the nation would be informed of other arrangements about his funeral plans.
Lungu was the sixth leader of the Southern African country. He lead Zambia between 2015 and 2021, when he lost an election to long-time opposition leader and current President Hakainde Hichilema.
Lungu assumed the presidency in 2015 following the death of then-president Michael Sata. He was subsequently elected in a presidential poll, serving from August 2016 to August 2021.
The former lawyer previously served as Minister of Justice and Minister of Defence.
Following his defeat in the 2021 election, Lungu retired from politics but returned in 2023 and was eventually confirmed as the leader and presidential candidate of the alliance that includes the Patriotic Front.
However, in December 2024, Zambia’s Constitutional Court ruled that he was not eligible to contest another term in office.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.