LUSAKA, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Zambia on Sunday announced the official program for the funeral of the country's fourth president, Rupiah Banda.
The government declared a seven-day mourning for Banda, who died on Friday at the age of 85.
Patrick Kangwa, acting secretary to the cabinet, said the former president will be buried on Friday, March 18, at the Embassy Park, the presidential burial site, in Lusaka, the country's capital.
He said the program has been arrived at following consultations with the family.
The burial will be preceded by a state funeral on Thursday, March 17, and foreign leaders have been invited, Kangwa said in a statement.
Banda served as the president of Zambia from 2008 to 2011.
He became the fifth president Zambia has lost since winning independence from Britain in 1964.
The country's founding president, Kenneth Kaunda, passed away last year. ■