Court Orders Repatriation of Ex-Zambian President’s Body, Rejects Family’s Burial Wish

A South African court ruled Friday that Zambia’s former president Edgar Lungu, who died in South Africa on June 5, should be buried in Zambia, rejecting his family’s request for a burial outside his home country.

Lungu’s burial had been the subject of a two-month dispute between Zambia’s government—which planned a state funeral for him in Lusaka—and his family, who wanted him laid to rest in South Africa.

His widow and children had blocked the repatriation of his body, arguing that he would not have wanted his political rival, current Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, to attend his funeral.

Zambia’s government, in response, filed a lawsuit to halt his burial in South Africa while funeral proceedings were already underway.

On Friday, a Pretoria court ruled in favor of Zambian law, stating: “A former president’s wishes or the wishes of his family cannot outweigh the right of the state to honour that individual with a state funeral.”

The judge ordered the family “to immediately surrender the body of the late president” to Zambian authorities for repatriation and burial in Lusaka.

Lungu, who was 68 at the time of his death, had been receiving specialized treatment at a Pretoria clinic, according to his Patriotic Front party. The exact cause of his death was not disclosed.

He was elected in 2015 to lead Zambia, a copper-rich southern African nation, but lost power six years later to Hichilema of the United Party for National Development.

Since his electoral defeat, Lungu’s family has faced legal troubles, with his wife and children charged with corruption and possession of suspected proceeds of crime. The family claims the charges are politically motivated.

His daughter, Tasila Lungu, was arrested in February on money laundering charges, following a 2024 detention with her mother and sister over fraud allegations. Her brother, Dalitso, is also facing corruption charges.