The legal saga surrounding the remains of former Zambian President Edgar Lungu has taken a definitive turn, as the South African Supreme Court of Appeal ruled in favor of his family’s request to bury him in South Africa.
This decision effectively overturns a previous high court ruling that had granted the Zambian government the authority to repatriate the body for a state funeral in Lusaka. The dispute, which has dragged on for over a year, highlights the deep-seated animosity between the late leader and his successor, President Hakainde Hichilema.
Lungu’s family has consistently maintained that the former president, who died at 68 in a Pretoria clinic, explicitly did not want Hichilema involved in his funeral proceedings.
The appellate judges noted in their ruling that Lungu viewed himself as persona non grata in his own nation and feared he would be denied a dignified send-off if the current administration were in control.
The Zambian government, which had previously attempted to claim the body for a state burial alongside former heads of state, now awaits further instruction from its legal team. This ruling follows a chaotic period of competing funeral arrangements and conflicting directives that have plagued the process since Lungu’s death in 2023.
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