Zambia is in mourning following the death of former President Edgar Lungu, who passed away at the age of 68 on Thursday June 5, 2025 in Pretoria, South Africa, where he had been receiving specialized medical care.
His daughter, Tasila Lungu-Mwansa, a member of Zambia’s Parliament, confirmed his death in a somber video posted on the official social media platforms of his party, the Patriotic Front.
“My father… had been under medical supervision in recent weeks. This condition was managed with dignity and privacy,” she said. Lungu, who reportedly battled a rare condition affecting the esophagus, had previously undergone treatment abroad during his presidency.
A lawyer by profession, Lungu rose swiftly through the ranks of the Patriotic Front after entering parliament in 2011.
He held several cabinet positions, including Minister of Justice and Minister of Defence, before assuming the presidency in 2015 following the death of President Michael Sata. He was later elected to a full five-year term in 2016.
His presidency was marked by a mixture of ambitious infrastructure projects and rising economic challenges. Lungu launched an aggressive road development campaign, attracting significant Chinese investment in public infrastructure.
Under his leadership, Zambia’s national debt soared, leading the country to default on its international loans in 2020, the first African nation to do so during the COVID-19 era.
This economic downturn significantly contributed to his loss in the 2021 presidential election to Hakainde Hichilema.
Despite his defeat, Lungu remained a significant political figure. He briefly retired after the election but made a political comeback in 2023, reclaiming leadership within an opposition alliance that included the Patriotic Front.
However, in December 2023, Zambia’s Constitutional Court ruled him ineligible to contest again, citing the constitutional two-term limit. The court considered his time in office from 2015 to 2021 as two full terms, including the partial term he completed after Sata’s death.
Lungu did not accept this decision quietly. He claimed political interference and alleged that he had been placed under what he described as “virtual house arrest.”
In interviews, he voiced frustration that police monitored his movements and even barred him from attending international conferences and seeking medical care abroad.
“I cannot move out of my house without being accosted and challenged by the police and driven back home,” he told the BBC’s Newsday in May 2024.
Although the government denied any formal restrictions on his movement, tensions between Lungu and state institutions remained high until his death. He was also a vocal critic of his successor, often accusing the administration of undermining democracy and curtailing freedoms.
In one of his final public addresses, he declared, “I am ready to fight from the front, not from the rear, in defense of democracy. Those who are ready for this fight, please come along with me.”
Lungu’s political legacy remains complex. Political analyst Lee Habasonda of the University of Zambia described him as a contradictory figure.
“The legacy of Edgar Lungu is a checkered legacy. He will be remembered for tolerating thuggery by his supporters although he also represented a brand of politicians who interacted across class,” he said.
He added that Lungu had allowed many Zambians from marginalized communities to feel close to the seat of power, even as his term was marred by economic mismanagement and allegations of authoritarianism.
President Hichilema, in his condolence message, called on Zambians to put aside political differences and come together in mourning.
“Let us come together as one people, above political affiliation or personal conviction, to honor the life of a man who once held the highest office in our land,” he said.
Born on November 11, 1956, in Ndola, Edgar Lungu graduated from the University of Zambia with a law degree in 1981 and underwent military training in Kabwe. From humble beginnings to the highest office in Zambia, his life journey was one of ambition, controversy, and resilience.
