Wednesday, June 25, 2025 - The Zambian government has succeeded in getting a court order to stop the private burial of former President Edgar Lungu in South Africa today after it filed a last-minute case that was heard on the day of the funeral
Members of Lungu's family were forced to delay their
appearance at the burial service and instead attend a courtroom hearing in the
South African capital dressed in black funeral attire to hear the case.
The Pretoria High Court ruled that both parties
had agreed after consultations that Lungu would not be buried until the case
over where his funeral would be held was decided. The judge set an August 4
date for another hearing.
The legal challenge by the Zambian government against
Lungu’s burial in South Africa was the latest development in a nearly monthlong
dispute with Lungu’s family over the details of his funeral and final resting
place.
The Zambian government wants Lungu to have a state funeral
at home, something Lungu’s family have refused to allow because of his bitter
political feud with current Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema.
Lungu, who was Zambia’s leader from 2015 to 2021, died
of an undisclosed illness in a South African hospital on June 5 at the age
of 68.
A state funeral for him in Zambia was cancelled twice
because of disagreements over the details.
His family and lawyers said he left specific instructions
that Hichilema should not attend his funeral, while the Zambian government said
Hichilema was due to preside over the state funeral.
Zambia’s Attorney General, Mulilo Kabesha, filed papers in
the South African court on Tuesday seeking an urgent injunction to stop
Wednesday’s funeral, according to Zambia’s national broadcaster ZNBC.
The court papers demanded that the former president be
buried in Zambia with full military honours, as mandated by Zambian law and in
keeping with the public interest, ZNBC reported.
Zambia’s government said it had already prepared a grave for
Lungu at a cemetery where all presidents are traditionally buried. It added
that any personal wishes must give way to the national interest.
Lungu’s family had decided against repatriating his body and
arranged their own funeral service and a private burial. Top members of Lungu’s
political party travelled to South Africa for the funeral.
The hearing in Pretoria began around an hour
before Lungu's funeral service was due to begin. Mourners arrived for the
service at a Johannesburg church around 60 kilometres (37 miles) away
while the case was being heard.
A memorial service later went ahead, but the court order
prevented the family from burying the former president before a final ruling.
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