In Zambia, a sitting president who once endured fifteen arrests and a silenced press now seeks re-election under accusations of repeating the very repressions he survived. Hakainde Hichilema campaigns against a coalition whose identity is bound to his deceased rival Edgar Lungu — a man whose disputed burial became a court battle across two nations and whose ghost now haunts every rally. The election asks a question older than any ballot: whether those who suffer under power are transformed by it, or merely inherit its habits.
Lungu's Shadow Looms Over Zambia's Election as Hichilema Seeks Second Term
36 members of opposition team detained during campaign; activists detained for 12+ hours during peaceful demonstrations; broader pattern of opposition rally disruptions.
A person earning more while everything costs twice as much is not actually better off
Mark
Why does a burial dispute from 2025 still matter in an election happening now?
Mimi
In Zambia, how you treat the dead is how people judge your character. When the government tried to control Lungu's funeral, it looked like disrespect—like power extending even beyond death. That image sticks.
Mark
But Hichilema won by a landslide in 2021. Shouldn't that give him confidence?
Mimi
You'd think so. But he was arrested 15 times under Lungu. He watched media outlets get shut down. That trauma doesn't disappear just because you won. Now when opposition members say they're being detained, he sees his own past reflected back at him—and he overreacts.
Mark
Is the economy actually better or not?
Mimi
It depends where you stand. Inflation is down, education is free, investment is flowing in. But prices have doubled. A worker earning 16 percent more while everything costs twice as much is worse off, not better. The statistics and the lived experience don't match.
Mark
What's Mundubile's actual chance of winning?
Mimi
Slim. But he doesn't need to win. He just needs to remind voters that Hichilema, for all his improvements, still acts like a man afraid of losing power. That fear is his vulnerability.
Mark
Does the opposition have a point about police bias?
Mimi
Transparency International documented it. Police interrupt opposition rallies more than ruling party ones. But Hichilema's team can point to 2021 and say: this is nothing compared to what we endured. Both things are true. That's what makes it complicated.
Der Puls
- Edgar Lungu died in South Africa in June 2025, but his unburied presence — literally and politically — has become the opposition's most powerful campaign symbol, with Mundubile's team promising to return his body for a dignified funeral as a direct rebuke to Hichilema.
- Thirty-six opposition members have been detained during the campaign, police have disrupted opposition rallies at a higher rate than ruling party events, and activists were held for over twelve hours for protesting blackouts — a pattern monitors at Transparency International have documented.
- Hichilema's government points to open airwaves, no shuttered media houses, and campaigning across all ten provinces as proof that 2026 bears no resemblance to the repression of 2021 — but the comparison is doing less work than his team hopes.
- Inflation has dropped from nearly 25 percent to 6.5 percent and education was made free, yet prices have nearly doubled since 2021, leaving millions unable to feel the macroeconomic progress in their daily lives.
- With re-election prospects still strong, Hichilema's greatest vulnerability may be the irony his own biography creates — a man shaped by persecution whose insecurity in power is now eroding the moral authority that brought him to office.
In Zambia, a sitting president who once endured fifteen arrests and a silenced press now seeks re-election under accusations of repeating the very repressions he survived. Hakainde Hichilema campaigns against a coalition whose identity is bound to his deceased rival Edgar Lungu — a man whose disputed burial became a court battle across two nations and whose ghost now haunts every rally. The election asks a question older than any ballot: whether those who suffer under power are transformed by it, or merely inherit its habits.
Hakainde Hichilema is seeking a second term as Zambia's president, but the campaign is being haunted by a man who is no longer alive to run against him. Edgar Lungu, Hichilema's longtime rival, died in South Africa in June 2025. The dispute over his burial — whether the state had the right to intervene — reached South Africa's supreme court of appeal, which sided with the family. The unresolved grief and political symbolism surrounding Lungu's death have become the opposition's most potent weapon.
The Tonse Alliance, led by Brian Mundubile, has made the burial a campaign centerpiece. Mundubile's running mate served as the Lungu family's spokesperson throughout the court battle, and the coalition has promised to bring Lungu's body home for what they call a dignified funeral. Meanwhile, they allege that 36 of their members have been detained during the campaign and that police have consistently disrupted their rallies while leaving ruling party events undisturbed. Chatham House researcher Christopher Vandome notes that how the dead are treated carries deep cultural weight in Zambia — and that even Hichilema's own supporters are uncomfortable with how the burial was handled.
Hichilema's team rejects the comparisons to 2021, when he himself was arrested fifteen times, Prime TV was shut down, and the internet went dark on election day. They argue that opposition parties now campaign freely across all ten provinces with no media closures. But Transparency International monitors have documented a pattern of selective police intervention, and the contrast between Hichilema's lived experience of repression and his government's current conduct is not lost on observers.
Economically, the record is genuinely mixed. Inflation has fallen sharply, education through secondary school is now free, and Zambia has stabilized after a sovereign debt default under Lungu. Copper wealth has drawn international investment. But prices have nearly doubled since 2021, and for millions of Zambians, the macroeconomic improvements remain invisible at the kitchen table. As one civil society voice put it, if the economy is doing well, why is it still so hard to find three meals a day?
Hichilema is widely expected to win. But the election has exposed something his opponents are eager to name: that the insecurity forged by years of persecution has followed him into power, and that it is costing him the moral clarity that once made him a symbol of democratic resilience.
Hakainde Hichilema is running for a second term as president of Zambia, but the man he defeated five years ago refuses to leave the stage—even in death. Edgar Lungu, Hichilema's arch-rival, died in South Africa in June 2025, yet the feud between them has only intensified. The government tried to prevent Lungu's family from burying him without state involvement. South Africa's supreme court of appeal sided with the family, overturning an earlier ruling. Now, as Zambians prepare to vote, the ghost of Lungu shapes everything.
Hichilema, 64, won a landslide victory in 2021 after years of political struggle. He had been arrested 15 times under Lungu's rule. Prime TV was shut down. The Post newspaper was silenced. On election day, the internet went dark. He knows what repression feels like. Now his opponents say he is doing the same thing—just more quietly. The Tonse Alliance, a coalition of opposition parties led by Brian Mundubile, 55, claims the government has raided their offices and detained 36 of their members during this campaign. Mundubile's running mate, Makebi Zulu, was the Lungu family's spokesperson during the burial dispute. On the campaign trail, they promise to bring Lungu's body back to Zambia for what they call a dignified funeral—a direct rebuke to the sitting president.
Hichilema's team denies the allegations. They point to the contrast with 2021: opposition parties campaign freely across all ten provinces now. No media houses have been closed. The airwaves remain open. But monitors from Transparency International have documented a pattern. Police have interrupted opposition rallies more often than ruling party events, citing safety concerns. In July 2024, activists protesting blackouts were detained for more than twelve hours. The picture is murkier than either side admits. Christopher Vandome, a senior research fellow at Chatham House, notes that how a country treats the dead matters deeply in Zambian culture. "Even Hichilema supporters want to see due respect given to those that have died," he said. When a burial becomes a political battleground, the incumbent looks bad—regardless of who is technically right.
Economically, Hichilema has delivered real gains. Inflation has fallen from 24.6 percent in July 2021 to 6.5 percent now. The government made primary and secondary education free in 2022. Zambia's economy stabilized after defaulting on its debts under Lungu in 2020. The country has attracted international investment because of its vast copper deposits, essential for green technology. At the start of August, Hichilema announced a 50 percent increase in student accommodation allowances, a direct appeal to young voters.
Yet on the ground, the gains feel distant. The World Bank reports that average annual income rose from $1,127 to $1,318 between 2021 and 2025. But prices nearly doubled over the same period. A person earning more money while everything costs twice as much is not actually better off. Mputa Ngalande of the Fight Inequality Alliance frames the question voters are asking: "If we are doing well economically, why are we not feeling impact on the ground? Because you will find on the ground that it is very difficult to access three meals a day." Almost 8.8 million registered voters will choose not just a president but also members of parliament and local councillors. Hichilema's prospects of winning are very high, Vandome said. But his own experience of persecution has left him insecure, and that insecurity is showing. It is denting his image in ways he does not need.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
Even Hichilema supporters want to see due respect given to those that have died. When it appears things get messy, it just makes the incumbent look disrespectful.— Christopher Vandome, Chatham House
If we are doing well economically, why are we not feeling impact on the ground? Because you will find on the ground that it is very difficult to access three meals a day.— Mputa Ngalande, Fight Inequality Alliance
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