The remains of Zambia’s former President, Edgar Lungu, which were scheduled to be repatriated to Zambia, were not returned as initially announced.

Makebi Zulu, the family’s lawyer and spokesperson, has accused the Zambian government of retracting the agreement reached last Sunday.

Everything was in place for the repatriation of the late President Lungu’s remains from South Africa to Zambia. The chartered plane assigned to transport the remains was already positioned at Lanseria Airport.

However, in a surprising turn of events, the South African Defence Force withdrew the red carpet that had been laid out for the military honours ceremony to send off the former President’s remains.

Following this, the family called an emergency press conference to announce the unexpected development.

Meanwhile, the government has extended the national mourning period to Monday, June 23rd, which was originally set as the burial date.

Despite the setback, the government, through the Secretary of Cabinet, issued a statement affirming its availability and commitment to further discussions to resolve the matter.