A legal battle over a former Zambian president’s burial might be over
The court said the family’s wishes prevail after finding no legal basis for Zambia to override them, and ordered the government to pay costs.
- On Tuesday, June 23, 2026, South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that the family of Former Zambian President Edgar Chagwa Lungu may bury him in South Africa, overturning a lower court decision favoring the Zambian Government.
- Lungu died in June 2025, sparking a dispute between his family and the Zambian Government, which sought to repatriate his remains for a state funeral in Lusaka.
- SCA judges ruled that constitutional rights to dignity and family autonomy prevail, noting the former president "viewed himself to be persona non grata in his own country" and feared he would not receive a dignified send-off if President Hakainde Hichilema attended.
- The court ordered the Zambian Government to pay legal costs, though the state may still appeal to the Constitutional Court, potentially extending the legal battle.
- Justice Raylene May Keightley noted in the judgment that the "ritual intended to bring closure has, instead, pitted family against the state in a hard-fought legal dispute far from the protagonists' home.
41 Articles
41 Articles
More than a year after the death of Edgar Lungu, former president of Zambia, his family won an appeal in Justice and obtained permission to bury him in South Africa, where he died. The Supreme Court of Appeal, based in Bloemfontein, reversed on Tuesday a previous decision of the High Court that allowed the Zambian government to repatriate the remains for a state funeral. Perfect encounter: identical twin brothers marry identical twin sisters on …
Zambia ex-president’s family wins latest legal battle over what should happen to his body
LUSAKA - More 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 high court ruling that allowed the Zambian government to repatriate the corpse.
A former Zambian president's family can finally choose where he's buried after yearlong legal battle
A South African court has ruled in favor of former Zambian President Edgar Lungu's family regarding his burial. The court rejected the Zambian government's claim to repatriate his body. Lungu died in South Africa a year ago at age 68.…
South Africa's appeals court grants Lungu's family burial right
A legal battle over where former Zambian President Edgar Lungu's remains will be buried may be over, more than a year after he died, as South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal ruled Tuesday in favor of his family and rejected the Zambian government's claim of custody over his body.
The body of former Zambian President Edgar Lungu may be buried in South Africa after all. On appeal, the court in Johannesburg ruled that the wishes of the next of kin outweigh those of his home country. Lungu died last June at the age of 68 during a medical visit to South Africa. He had already been out of office for several years at that time, after his major rival Hakainde Hichilema defeated him in the 2021 elections. Following his death, Zam…
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