Court orders Edgar Lungu’s remains be returned to his family

On Thursday the Zambian government announced that they were in possession of Lungu’s mortal remains.

His body was moved from Two Mountains Funeral services to a government managed facility.

Lungu’s family quicly sought an injunction, with the High Court in Pretoria saying the application was “dealt with as one of extreme urgency”.

The court ordered Zambia’s government to return the remains to the private funeral home or a facility of the family’s choosing. According to Judge Rochelle Francis-Subbiah.

Lungu died at the age of 68 at Mediclinic’s Medforum Hospital in Pretoria on 5 June 2025. He died following cardiac complications during surgery.

The Zambian government and the Lungu family have been locked in legal disputes pertaining to his burial for over 10 months.

The family has repeatedly blocked efforts to repatriate his body, saying he would not have wanted his successor Hakainde Hichilema at his funeral. Zambia in turn moved to halt his burial in South Africa while funeral proceedings were already underway.

A Pretoria High Court judgment in August 2025 ruled in favour of the Zambian government to repatriate Lungu’s mortal remains to his home country.

In a Facebook post, family spokesperson, Emmanuel Mwamba said it was not true that the family had missed the deadline to submit their appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein.

“Lawyers for the family have insisted that this information by the Zambian Government is false as they had filed Notice of Appeal, Arguments and other documents,” said Mwamba in his statement.

He also said there is an order directed to the SAPS, National Police Commissioner, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation to ensure that the remains are returned.

Citizens First President Harry Kalaba has also condemned the government’s ownership of Lungu’s mortal remains, calling it an embarrassing impasse. He says it is unnecessarily rattling relations between the two countries.