THE Gauteng High Court in South Africa has ruled in favour of the Zambian government to repatriate the body of former President Edgar Lungu and accord him a state funeral, despite objections from his family.
The ICIR reported that the Zambia government had previously applied to block the family’s plans to bury the former leader privately in South Africa, where he died of undisclosed illness at the age of 68, on June 5, while receiving treatment at a medical centre.
The government and his family had agreed he would have a state funeral before the agreement failed, prompting the family to eventually resolve not to fly the body to Zambia for burial but chose to bury him in South Africa.
The dispute followed a long-standing feud between Lungu and his successor, President Hakainde Hichilema, with Lungu’s family saying he had indicated that Hichilema should not attend his funeral.
Peeved by the family’s decision, the Zambian government filed a suit in South Africa to halt the burial plans just as it was about to start on June 26.
At the time, Zambian state lawyers argued that personal wishes should not override the greater public interest.
Delivering the judgment on Friday, the judge, Aubrey Ledwaba, stated that the Zambian government was “entitled to repatriate the body of the late president” and ordered his family to “immediately surrender” it to authorities.
Lungu’s relatives reacted with visible distress to the ruling, wailing loudly in the courtroom as Zambian attorney, Mulilo Kabesha, addressed the media, stating that the ruling was not a win for the government but rather “what makes good sense”.
“When you are the father of the nation, you can’t restrict yourself to your immediate family… The man belongs to the nation,” he said.
Kabesha praised the court for making a “sound judgment” and said that while the family had a right to appeal, this was a “learning curve” for those aspiring to the highest office.
The ICIR reports that Lungu was the sixth leader of the Southern African country. He led Zambia between 2015 and 2021, when he lost an election to long-time opposition leader and incumbent president.
Lungu assumed the presidency in 2015 following the death of then-president Michael Sata.
He was subsequently elected in a presidential poll, serving from August 2016 to August 2021.
A trained lawyer, Lungu previously served as Minister of Justice and Minister of Defence.
Following his defeat in the 2021 election, he retired from politics but returned in 2023 and was eventually confirmed as the leader and presidential candidate of the alliance that included the Patriotic Front.
However, in December 2024, Zambia’s Constitutional Court ruled that he was not eligible to contest another term in office.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.