Online ReporterSouth Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of the late former Zambian President Edgar Lungu’s family, determining that his remains will be buried in South Africa.
This decision effectively ends a protracted legal battle brought against the Zambian Government, which sought to repatriate his body for a state funeral in Zambia.
President Lungu, who led Zambia from 2015 to 2021, passed away in South Africa while seeking medical treatment on June 5, 2025. His passing sparked a highly publicised dispute over where he would be buried.
In a landmark judgment delivered on today, the Supreme Court of Appeal sided with former First Lady Esther Lungu, members of the Lungu family, and family spokesperson Makebi Zulu, ruling that they have the legal authority to determine how and where the late president should be laid to rest.
The decision overturns a 2025 ruling by the Gauteng High Court, which had granted the Zambian Government permission to return Lungu’s body to Zambia for burial with full state honours. The appellate court dismissed the government’s application in its entirety and ordered it to pay the legal costs of the case.
Delivering the majority judgment, Justice R.M. Keightley held that South African constitutional protections for dignity, privacy and family autonomy, together with common law principles recognising the rights of next of kin, supported the family’s position.
The court concluded that the Zambian Government had failed to establish any legal basis for overriding the wishes of Lungu’s family.
It found no convincing evidence that Zambian law, custom or official protocol granted the state the power to decide the burial arrangements of a deceased former president against the wishes of his relatives.
The judges also noted that the government did not present expert evidence to support its claim that former Zambian Heads of State must be buried according to specific state protocols or traditions. In addition, the court rejected the argument that a binding agreement had been reached with the Lungu family to repatriate the former President’s remains for a state funeral in Zambia. – allAfrica.com
