A former leader has been dead for over a year, but his unburied body is casting a longer shadow over the ballot box than the living politicians trying to replace him.
In the busy markets of Lusaka, campaign songs blast from speakers and giant faces stare down from billboards. But the loudest issue in this election is not a living candidate. It is a ghost.
Former President Edgar Lungu died more than a year ago in South Africa. Yet, his body remains unburied. A bitter, deeply personal dispute between his family and current President Hakainde Hichilema has kept the late leader in the ground, and that unresolved grief has turned into a potent political weapon.
It has energized the opposition, particularly in the north. But for the average person standing in the Lusaka City Market, the real fight is just about surviving the week.
The government points to the macro numbers. Inflation has cooled to 6.6%. The president restructured $13 billion in debt and brought millions of kids back to school with free education. Hichilema defends his record bluntly.
“We inherited a broken-down country… the economy was declining,” he said
But macroeconomic wins do not pay for dinner. The cost of cooking oil has jumped over 70% in five years. A severe drought recently caused power outages that lasted up to 20 hours a day, leaving food rotting in warm fridges.
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Given Kangwa, a 27-year-old flour-mill worker, makes about $157 a month. It barely covers rent and food.
“The cost of living, I cannot say is okay,” he said. “The money we are getting paid is not enough and we cannot sustain our lives.”
Theresa Zulu, who sells food on the street, put it even simpler. “Money has become so hard to come by. We are trying to stay strong to survive, but things have become really hard for us.”
This daily friction has opened the door for Brian Mundubile, a 55-year-old opposition challenger. He is pitching himself as a “big brother” to the youth. And he has made a very specific promise to Lungu’s supporters: if he wins, he will finally give the former president a dignified burial.
Still, not everyone wants the old guard back. “I wouldn’t love to see them come back,” voter Edith Muntanga said, remembering the corruption of the past.
With the vote set for August 13, civil rights activists are also raising alarms about the electoral commission’s independence. The macro numbers say Zambia is recovering. The streets say something else entirely. Now, eight million voters have to decide which reality is true.
