The family of late former Zambian president Edgar Lungu has approached the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein in a bid to overturn a Pretoria High Court ruling concerning his burial arrangements.
The family argues that the High Court erred when it upheld the Zambian government’s application to repatriate Lungu’s remains for a state funeral and burial in Zambia.
According to the family, Lungu’s widow, Esther Lungu, and his children should have the exclusive right to decide how and where the former president is buried.
Court papers reveal that although the family initially engaged with the Zambian government regarding the possibility of a state funeral in Zambia, negotiations eventually collapsed.
The family claims the government insisted that the funeral be conducted as an official state ceremony presided over by current Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema.
Following the breakdown in discussions, the Lungu family decided to proceed with a private burial in South Africa, saying the decision was in line with the late president’s wishes.
However, the Zambian government maintains that it has the legal right to repatriate Lungu’s remains, arguing that the family had initially agreed to a state funeral and burial in Zambia.
Representing the family in court, Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi argued that Edgar Lungu had expressly opposed any involvement by President Hichilema in his funeral arrangements due to longstanding political and personal tensions between the two leaders.
Ngcukaitobi told the Supreme Court of Appeal that the Gauteng High Court had incorrectly concluded that the Zambian government had established a clear legal right to repatriate the former president’s remains.
“On page 187, what we know about Mr Lungu’s own wishes appears at paragraph 3.34 of the affidavit. He did not want the current president of Zambia, Mr Hichilema, to have anything to do with his body or his funeral,” Ngcukaitobi told the court.
He said Lungu had communicated these wishes to a confidant, Dr Sachana, a lecturer at Stellenbosch University.
“That’s largely because by the time Mr Lungu came to South Africa, there were deep-seated political and personal problems between him and the current government of Zambia,” he argued.
Ngcukaitobi further submitted that both Esther Lungu and the immediate family shared the late president’s wishes that President Hichilema should not be involved in the funeral arrangements.
“We also know that the family does not want to be dictated to by the Zambian government about where the body ought to be buried,” he said.
“If they elect to bury the body in South Africa, which is what they intended to do on the 17th of June 2025, they do not want the Zambian government to interfere with that decision.”
He added that even if the family ultimately chose to bury Lungu in Zambia, they believed that decision should rest solely with them.
Ngcukaitobi also criticised the Pretoria High Court’s handling of the matter, arguing that it failed to properly consider the constitutional rights raised by the family and incorrectly approached questions relating to foreign law.
The legal dispute comes as Zambia prepares to mark the first anniversary of Edgar Lungu’s death on 5 June, with uncertainty still surrounding where and how the former president will be laid to rest.