Court Grants Lungu of Zambia Family Burial Rights

The family of former Zambian President Edgar Lungu has won the legal right to determine where he will be buried after South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal overturned a lower court ruling that favoured the Zambian government.

The appeals court ruled that authority over Lungu’s burial arrangements rests with his family rather than the Zambian state. The decision brings an end to a dispute that followed the former president’s death in South Africa, where he had been receiving medical treatment.

Lungu, who served as Zambia’s president from 2015 to 2021, has remained unburied as disagreements persisted over whether he should receive a state funeral in Lusaka or be laid to rest privately in South Africa.

His family maintained that Lungu would not have wanted President Hakainde Hichilema, his longtime political rival, to attend his funeral and therefore preferred a private burial arrangement.

In its judgment, the court found that the Zambian government had not established a legal basis under South African law to override the wishes of the family. It also rejected arguments that a binding agreement on funeral arrangements had been reached between both parties.

Zambia’s Attorney General, Mulilo Kabesha, said the government respects the ruling and will not pursue a further appeal, despite disagreeing with the majority decision.

South Africa’s government had previously said that a state burial in Zambia would be a fitting tribute to the former leader while acknowledging the need to respect the wishes of his family.

The court’s decision concludes a prolonged legal dispute over the final resting place of Zambia’s sixth president. The family has not yet announced burial arrangements.

SOURCE: Reuters