The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in South Africa has granted the family of Zambia’s late former president Edgar Lungu leave to appeal a High Court ruling that authorised the Zambian government to repatriate his body for burial in Lusaka.
Lungu died on June 5 after suffering cardiac complications following surgery at Mediclinic Medforum Hospital in Pretoria, where he had been receiving medical treatment. He was 69.
In June, the Gauteng High Court halted plans for Lungu to be buried in Johannesburg, intervening just hours before a private ceremony organised by his family was due to take place.
The dispute centres on where the former head of state should be laid to rest. Lungu’s family maintains that he wished to be buried in South Africa, arguing that this was his final request. The Zambian government, however, insists that he should receive a state funeral and be buried at a designated national site in the capital, Lusaka, in line with official protocol for former presidents.
In a previous attempt to challenge the High Court decision, which was denied by the same court, Lungu’s family accused the Zambian authorities of abandoning him after he left office in 2021.
“At no time did the [Zambian] administration take any interest in late president Lungu’s well-being after his removal from office,” the appeal papers stated. “He said his wishes were that, in the event of his death, those who never showed any interest in his welfare while he was alive should not be allowed to pretend to be interested in his welfare at death.”
In August, the Pretoria High Court ruled that the Zambian government was “entitled to repatriate the body of the late president” and ordered the family to “immediately surrender” it to Zambian authorities.
Edgar Lungu served as Zambia’s sixth president from 2015 to 2021, after assuming office following the death of former president Michael Sata. His presidency was marked by economic challenges, rising debt levels and growing political tensions, and he lost power to current president Hakainde Hichilema in the 2021 general election.
The SCA’s decision to grant leave to appeal signals that the higher court believes there are reasonable prospects that another court may reach a different conclusion, particularly on questions of personal wishes, family rights and state authority over former heads of state.
A date for the appeal hearing has not yet been set.
