Operation Dudula threatens to damage Lungu’s grave
SOUTH Africa’s anti-immigration movement, Operation Dudula, has warned the family of late former president Edgar Lungu that it will destroy the grave for the former president if the family decided to bury in that country.
Phelisa Mazondwa, a supporter of the movement, said unless adequate security measures are put in place, Lungu’s gravesite would not be spared after June 30.
Meanwhile, Progressive Forces of South Africa president Mthetho Ngcukayithobi has appealed to the family of the late former president to repatriate Lungu’s body to Zambia.
The remarks follow the June 23 ruling by South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), which dismissed an earlier court decision that had allowed the Zambian government to repatriate Lungu’s body for a State funeral and burial.
Ngcukayithobi said he would encourage the family to return Lungu’s body to Zambia if given an opportunity to engage them, following the court ruling that left the final decision in the family’s hands.
“If we were given an opportunity to engage with the family, we would encourage them to repatriate the body to Zambia so that Zambians can celebrate and honour their former president,” he said.
Ngcukayithobi described the matter as spiritual, saying it would be unprecedented for a former democratically elected president to be buried in another country as though he were an exile.
“This matter is spiritual, and it will be the first in history for a former sitting president in a democratic state to be buried in another country as if he were an exile,” he said.
He added that South Africans would welcome the repatriation of the former head of state to Zambia.
“At this current juncture, we are looking forward to the president being repatriated, and it would bring joy to South Africans,” he said.
By Elizabeth Muchape
Kalemba, June 26, 2026