ZAMBIA’S founding president Kenneth Kaunda’s son, Kaweche says he fully understands the pain the Lungu family is going through, because his own family faced the same heartache when the government buried their father, Kenneth Kaunda, at Embassy Park against his personal wishes.
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Appearing on ZNBC’S Sunday Interview, Kaweche called on the former first family to compromise with government for the sake of unity, just like the Kaunda family did in 2021.
He explained that although they were hurt and disagreed with the government’s decision to bury Kaunda at a site he never wanted, they accepted the outcome because the majority of Zambians felt he belonged at Embassy Park as a symbol of national heritage.
He said burying a president is a difficult journey few Zambian families have experienced, and it comes with emotional weight, but also responsibility.
“Only six of us in this population of 20 million or so, only six families have been through this. So I can understand the hurt that the Lungu family are going through. We went through it but you must compromise with government, which is what we did,” Kaweche said.
“We did not just get bullied and government did not take that approach. Neither did we remain stubborn and say we are unmovable but we made our opinions felt and our feelings felt”
The former first son recalled how he tried to stop the burial through the courts but chose not to fight on after realising the public’s strong feelings.
Drawing from that experience, he called on the family of former President Edgar Lungu to also put the country first amid growing calls for the former president’s return and a dignified resolution to his current absence from public life.
By George Musonda
Kalemba July 1, 2025
