Edgar Lungu: Court Rules Against Late President’s Kin, Orders Body Repatriated for State Funeral
- A South African court ordered the repatriation of former Zambian president Edgar Lungu’s remains to Zambia for a state funeral, overruling his family’s wishes
- The Pretoria High Court ruled that the state’s right to a funeral for a former president outweighs personal or family preferences under Zambian law
- Lungu’s family opposed a public funeral, citing political tensions with his successor, but the court emphasised national protocol and public interest
- Zambia’s Attorney General welcomed the ruling, calling it “what makes good sense” and hoping it would bring closure despite the family’s right to appeal
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Didacus Malowa, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.
A South African court has ordered that the remains of former Zambian president Edgar Lungu be repatriated to Zambia for a state funeral, overruling opposition from his family.
Source: Getty Images
The Pretoria High Court ruled on Friday, August 8, that the Zambian government has the authority to organise a state burial for Lungu at Embassy Park in Lusaka.
Lungu, who served as Zambia’s president from 2015 to 2021, died on June 5 in Johannesburg while receiving medical treatment.
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His family wanted to bury him privately in South Africa, citing political tensions with his successor, President Hakainde Hichilema.
Why did South African court rule against Lungu's kin?
The dispute escalated after the Zambian government filed an urgent application to prevent a private funeral arranged by the family.
Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba stressed that under Zambian public law, the state’s right to honour a former president with a state funeral overrides personal or family wishes.
"The court held that under Zambian law and as a matter of public policy, a former president’s personal wishes or the wishes of his family cannot outweigh the right of the state to honor that individual with a state funeral and burial at the official site designated for national leaders," Ledwaba said.
Ledwaba's ruling reinforces the precedence of national protocol and public interest over private wishes in honouring leaders of Lungu’s stature
The ruling prompted visible emotional distress in court, with Lungu’s widow seen sobbing while his elder sister, Bertha Lungu, broke into tears in the courtroom gallery, expressing grief in their native Bemba language.
How did the Zambian govt react to the verdict?
Zambia’s Attorney General, Mulilo Kabesha, welcomed the judgment, calling it "what makes good sense."
He said that while Lungu was regarded as the "father of the nation," his legacy belongs to the entire country, not just his immediate family.
He described the ruling as a sound judgment and hoped it would bring closure, although he acknowledged the family’s right to appeal.
"It’s just what makes good sense- that the president or former president of the republic of Zambia should be buried in his own country. I mean if you go to Zambia they call him father of the nation. When you are a father of the nation you can’t restrict yourself to your immediate family," Kabesha opined.
Source: Getty Images
Following the court order, the family must hand over Lungu’s remains to a Zambian state representative to facilitate repatriation and preparations for the state funeral.
BBC reports that private security reportedly guard the body in Pretoria due to previous unauthorised removal attempts.
Why did Lungu have poor relations with his successor?
During Lungu’s presidency, Hichilema was imprisoned on charges widely seen as politically motivated.
After Lungu lost the 2021 election to Hichilema, relations between the two remained strained until his death.
Lungu’s family argued that he did not want Hichilema involved in his funeral arrangements, a position rejected by the government.
Proofreading by Asher Omondi, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
