After a Funeral: Where is Zambia's Political Conscience?
In Africa, democratic transitions are often remembered with crises, chaos, and even coups. For a long time, Zambia was the exception to this rule. Founding leader Kenneth Kaunda, despite losing the 1991 election, peacefully handed over power, teaching a vital lesson to both his nation and the continent.
However, this democratic maturity is now being severely
tested. The prolonged blocking of former President Edgar Chagwa Lungu's
permission to travel abroad for medical treatment, culminating in his death in
South Africa, has profoundly shaken Zambia's political climate.
Political Strife at the Funeral
As Zambia prepared to bid farewell to Lungu, the funeral
process became not just a memorial ceremony, but the epicenter of a political
and social debate. The government's plans to repatriate the body with official
protocol were disrupted by disagreements with Lungu's family and the Patriotic
Front (PF) party. A compromise, finally reached through the mediation of SADC
(Southern African Development Community) leaders, allowed the body's return.
The refusal by Lungu's family of current President Hakainde
Hichilema's offer to hold an official ceremony—amid claims that Lungu had once
said "Don't let him near my funeral"—and their request for a simple
ceremony, laid bare the tension between state protocol and personal will.
Furthermore, the fact that Lungu, as a former leader of the
country, could not save his life within Zambia's own healthcare system became
the most dramatic indicator of the helplessness ordinary citizens face in
accessing basic health services.
The Evolving Understanding of Democracy from Kaunda to
Today
Zambia was one of the rare countries that managed to
maintain both ethnic peace and political stability in the post-independence
period under Kenneth Kaunda. The slogan "One Zambia, One Nation"
ensured peaceful coexistence among 72 ethnic groups.
The peaceful transfer of power in 1991 fostered hopes that
democracy could take root. However, subsequent leaders failed to uphold this
legacy. Frederick Chiluba's declaration of a "Christian nation"
triggered sectarian discrimination and polarization. Michael Sata created hope
with promises of economic reform, but failed in governance with his
authoritarian tendencies. The eras of Mwanawasa and Banda went down in history
as the 'unfulfilled hopes' of Zambian democracy. Mwanawasa was inconsistent on
election transparency and media freedom. Banda showed skill in managing the
transition process but lost credibility with the 2011 election scandals and
increasing Chinese influence.
The Lungu Era: Crisis, Repression, and Tendencies Towards
One-Man Rule
Edgar Lungu, Zambia's sixth president, known for his
repressive stance towards opposition leaders from the moment he took power, had
the then-opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema arrested by police force in 2017.
Subsequently, he stripped 48 MPs from the opposition UPND (United Party for
National Development) of their powers for one month.
Independent media was also under pressure during this
period. The Post newspaper was shut down on flimsy pretexts.
Lungu threatened a state of emergency in response to a fire at a popular market
in Lusaka, aiming to intimidate the opposition.
Hichilema's Rise and Broken Hopes
In the 2021 elections, Hichilema, who gained the support of
broad sections of the populace with the hope of "change," had become
a symbol of the people's patience. He had lost five consecutive elections, but
finally won with the support of youth, civil society, and the public demanding
reform.
The initial steps were promising. A $1.3 billion deal with
the IMF was presented as a solution to the external debt crisis. However, over
time, promises gave way to delays and uncertainty. Judicial reforms progressed
slowly and erratically. Pressure on civil society and control over the media
increased.
In 2023, reports of public misconduct increased by 132%.
Throughout 2024, journalists were arrested, protests were suppressed, and
social media was occasionally restricted.
Ironically, the repression that Lungu had meted out to
Hichilema was now being directed at Lungu himself, this time by Hichilema's
hand. Moreover, this time the pressure was being applied through more
"legal" and indirect means.
Politics of Enmity and Weakened Institutions
Today, instead of mourning Lungu, the Zambian people are
being dragged into a fight over "where, how, and when to mourn."
This is because the parties that come to power adopt a
politics based on vilifying the opposition, rather than focusing on the
people's problems and strengthening a sense of unity.
In Zambia, the opposition is presented not as a legitimate
alternative, but as a threat. This prevents the people from uniting around
common interests.
The tragic death of Edgar Lungu and Hakainde Hichilema's
authoritarian tendencies show that Zambia is undergoing a difficult test.
Zambia: A Land of Opportunity
Zambia is a country that stands out on the African continent
with many advantageous aspects. While armed groups have roamed its neighbor,
the Democratic Republic of Congo, for over thirty years, and the fight against
terrorism continues in Mozambique; Zambia attracts attention in the region with
its peaceful and stable structure, free from ethnic or sectarian conflicts.
Possessing one of the world's largest copper reserves,
Zambia was among the continent's strongest economies thanks to the
nationalization policies of the Kaunda era. However, this potential is not
being fully realized today.
Zambia's agenda should feature not political rivalry, but
the renationalization of the mining sector, sustainable solutions to exit the
debt crisis, and policies that protect national interests while attracting
foreign investors.
Conclusion: The Need for Indigenous Political Order
The political crisis in Zambia is not just a leadership
problem; it also shows that the Western-imported understanding of democracy in
Africa needs to be questioned. This winner-takes-all system views the
opposition as an enemy, fosters polarization instead of social consensus, and
ignores local and religious values.
African societies need a governance culture based on
collective memory, community solidarity, and local value systems, which are at
the core of the "ubuntu" philosophy. Africa's real need is perhaps
not to try and fit into Western templates, but to build an inclusive and
indigenous political order nourished by its own historical and cultural
dynamics.
This article was originally published in Independent Türkçe, on June 19, 2025.
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