Zambian ex-President, Edgar Lungu, Confirmed Dead
Lungu, who held power for almost seven years until 2021, died Thursday in a hospital in South Africa at the age of 68, his family announced.
Former President Edgar Lungu of Zambia is dead. Lungu, who held power for almost seven years until 2021, died Thursday in a hospital in South Africa at the age of 68, his party and family announced.
The former president had been receiving medical treatment in a clinic in Pretoria, South Africa, his political party, the Patriotic Front, said in a statement.
His daughter, Tasila Lungu-Mwansa
also confirmed her father's demise.
“My father had been under medical supervision in recent weeks.
“His condition was managed with dignity and privacy with support from all well-wishers,” she told the social media, without providing further details on the cause of his death.
Lungu, a trained military officer and lawyer, had suffered from recurring achalasia, a condition caused by narrowing of the oesophagus, for which he had been treated in South Africa.
He stepped down from the presidency in 2021 when veteran opposition leader and current president,Hakainde Hichilema, won elections by a landslide.
He had said he planned to run for president again in the 2026 elections.
He came into power in 2015, after the death in office of his predecessor Michael Sata, and described himself as an “ordinary Zambian of humble beginnings.”
“His condition was managed with dignity and privacy with support from all well-wishers,” she told the social media, without providing further details on the cause of his death.
Lungu, a trained military officer and lawyer, had suffered from recurring achalasia, a condition caused by narrowing of the oesophagus, for which he had been treated in South Africa.
He stepped down from the presidency in 2021 when veteran opposition leader and current president,Hakainde Hichilema, won elections by a landslide.
He had said he planned to run for president again in the 2026 elections.
He came into power in 2015, after the death in office of his predecessor Michael Sata, and described himself as an “ordinary Zambian of humble beginnings.”
What's Your Reaction?
