Edgar Lungu, the former president of Zambia, who ruled for nearly seven years until 2021, passed away on Thursday at the age of 68 in a South African hospital, according to his family and party.
According to a statement from his political organisation, the Patriotic Front, Lungu has been undergoing specialised medical care at a Pretoria clinic.
In a social media video, his daughter Tasila Lungu-Mwansa declared, “My father had been under medical supervision in recent weeks.”
She stated that “his condition was managed with dignity and privacy with support from all well-wishers,” but she did not specify the cause of his passing.
Lungu has received treatment in South Africa for recurrent achalasia, a disorder brought on by oesophageal constriction.
After veteran opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema, the current president, won elections by a landslide in 2021, Lungu, a lawyer and former military commander, resigned as president.
In the 2026 elections, he announced his intention to run for president again.
He identified himself as an “ordinary Zambian of humble beginnings” when he assumed office in 2015 following the passing of his predecessor, Michael Sata.
