Embassy Park in Lusaka | Atlas Obscura

In the commercial and political center of Lusaka lies a green space, across the street from the Cabinet Offices and surrounded by embassies. This park is the official cemetery for the presidents of Zambia. Ever since gaining independence from Great Britain, Zambia has been fortunate to have relatively peaceful and regular transitions of power, with generally free and fair elections with minimal violence and no serious coup attempts. The current president, Hakainde Hichilema, is Zambia’s seventh president (not including Guy Scott, Zambia’s caretaker president for three months in Oct 2014 and Africa’s first leader of European descent since the fall of apartheid.)

Today, five of Zambia’s deceased presidents are buried here, including the first president and father of Zambian independence, Kenneth Kaunda. Each is intended to have their own mausoleum – each specifically designed to represent the values and legacies of their respective occupants – although currently only three have been built. The remaining two are in stages of planning, including Kaunda’s, the most recent of these leaders to pass away.

As of early 2026, there is one notable absence, and an empty grave to mark it. President Edgar Lungu died in a hospital in Johannesburg in June 2025, but arguments over his funeral proceedings continue to the present day. Visitors can see the planned location and constructed tomb for Lungu, but his body remains in South Africa for the foreseeable future. Still, tours of the site provide visitors with a background on Zambia’s executives, and the chance to pay respects to the most important men in the country’s history in one convenient spot.