Sumaili Criticizes Government for Accepting South African Court Ruling on Lungu Burial
Former Religious Affairs Minister Godfridah Sumaili, who served under former President Edgar Lungu, has criticized the Zambian government’s decision to accept the ruling of the South African court regarding Lungu’s burial.
According to this view, she expected the government to immediately appeal the judgment to South Africa’s Constitutional Court, a move that would have prolonged the dispute over the former president’s burial arrangements.
Sumaili has argued that extending the impasse could have been politically advantageous to the PF faction aligned with Brian Mundubile and Malukula ahead of the August elections by generating public sympathy.
However, with the government opting not to appeal the ruling, that strategy has effectively been brought to an end, a development Sumaili regrets.