6 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleNatasha BootyandWedaeli Chibelushi
Getty ImagesMore than a year after the death of Zambia’s former President Edgar Lungu, his family have won their appeal to have his body buried in South Africa where he died – overturning a previous high court ruling that allowed the Zambian government to repatriate the corpse.
It is not clear whether Tuesday’s ruling at the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein puts to rest a legal battle over what should happen to his remains following a long-standing feud between Lungu and his successor, President Hakainde Hichilema.
All eyes will be on the Zambian government’s next move, as its lawyers await instruction.
It has long maintained that, as a former head of state, Lungu should be honoured in the country.
The Zambian government wished to see him laid to rest alongside his predecessors in the special presidential burial ground in the capital, Lusaka.
But Lungu’s family wanted a private burial after negotiations with the government over the funeral arrangements broke down.
Last August, the South African high court in Pretoria ruled that Zambia’s government could repatriate the body and give him a state funeral – an outcome that left Lungu’s relatives visibly distraught in the courtroom.
The family appealed against the decision but, in a surprise announcement in April Zambia’s government said Lungu’s remains had been “formally transferred” to the state by the South African court.
But just a few hours later, the same South African court ordered the Zambian government to return the body until the matter went to court again.
The former president died of an undisclosed illness aged 68 at a clinic in Pretoria. Chaos ensued following his death, with mourners receiving conflicting information from the government and Lungu’s political party, the Patriotic Front (PF).
Two separate mourning periods were announced and at one point there were competing condolence books.
Lungu, who led Zambia from 2015 until 2021, had numerous rows with Hichilema, who was the opposition leader for many years before finally unseating his bitter rival.
After Lungu’s death, his family said the ex-president did not want Hichilema to be at his funeral or “anywhere near” his body.
Additional reporting by Nomsa Maseko in Johannesburg
Getty Images/BBCGo to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
BBC Africa podcastsAfricaZambia
About The Author
