US EditionThe Disputes Over African Leaders’ Funerals
The Lungu family continues legal battles in Pretoria as formal talks with Zambia aim to resolve the burial dispute after three months of court rulings and negotiations.
- With judgment reserved, the Constitutional Court will hear the Lungu family’s case on Monday over Edgar Lungu's burial in Johannesburg, where his body has remained for over three months.
- Counsel for the Lungu family contends South African succession and constitutional law grants Esther Lungu burial authority, while the Zambian government asserts a binding agreement permits repatriation for a state funeral.
- After the Constitutional Court decision on Aug. 26, South Africa's Constitutional Court refused the family's direct appeal and Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi SC argued that human remains cannot be contracted over.
- Previous mediation talks collapsed after the government insisted President Hakainde Hichilema should preside and the family opposes his presence; Zambia's Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha rushed to court before a family funeral, while on Aug. 8 the Zambian public watched the Pretoria hearings amid rising tensions.
- Legal experts say the Lungu family’s dispute may set precedent for cross-border burial rights amid political funeral symbolism in other African cases.
11 Articles
11 Articles
The Disputes Over African Leaders’ Funerals
Late in the morning on Aug. 8, 2025, most Zambians had their attention fixed on the Pretoria High Court in South Africa. After a two-month-long feud between Zambia’s government and the family of the late President Edgar Lungu, who died aged 68 on June 5 in Johannesburg and is yet to be repatriated to his home country of Zambia, the court ruled that the Zambian state was entitled to bring his body home. This cleared the way for the state funeral …
The family and its party are not agreeing with the current President Hichilema: it has to do with a deep political rivalry
Who owns the body? The law, politics and theology of burial in the Lungu dispute – Nehanda Radio
The death of a leader is never a private affair. When President Edgar Lungu passed away in Johannesburg on 5 June 2025, Zambia was thrust into a legal and moral drama that spilled across borders. The post Who owns the body? The law, politics and theology of burial in the Lungu dispute appeared first on Nehanda Radio.
Pretoria Court Reserves Judgment in Edgar Lungu Repatriation Case
The Pretoria High Court has reserved judgment in a case involving the family of late former Zambian President Edgar Lungu. Lungu passed away in South Africa on June 5, 2025, but he has not yet been buried, over three months later. The delay stems from a legal dispute between his family and the Zambian government over his burial arrangements. Authorities in Zambia insist on repatriating his body for a state funeral, while the family is fighting f…
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