Written by: Mohammed Omran
Issued court South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the family of former Zambian President Edgar Lungu in the case concerning the place and manner of his burial, thus ending a long-running legal dispute between the family and the Zambian government.
South Africa's Court of Appeal settles the dispute over the burial of former Zambian President Edgar Lungu.
The court overturned a previous ruling by the Gauteng High Court in 2025, which had allowed the Zambian government to transport the body of the late president and bury him in Zambia with full state ceremonies, affirming the family's right to make the final decision regarding burial arrangements.
The court, in its ruling issued on Tuesday, confirmed that the Zambian government had not provided sufficient legal grounds to override the wishes of the Lungu family, noting that constitutional principles in South Africa guarantee the protection of dignity, privacy, and the rights of next of kin in matters of burial.
A final ruling in favor of the family of former Zambian President Edgar Lungu
The court stressed that the family has the full right to determine where and how the former president is buried, based on the general law that gives the deceased's relatives priority in such decisions, unless there are clear legal justifications to the contrary.
The court also rejected the Zambian government's claims that there was an agreement or custom allowing it to interfere in the funeral arrangements, asserting that the evidence presented by the family was more compelling and clear in this regard.
It noted in its reasoning that the late President Edgar Lungu died in South Africa in June 2025 while receiving treatment for advanced esophageal cancer.
In its first official response, the Zambian government announced that it respects the court ruling and will not file a further appeal before the Constitutional Court of South Africa, despite disagreeing with it, stressing that the burial matter is now a private family affair.
With this decision, a sensitive legal dispute that lasted for months is brought to a close, amid assurances from both parties of their commitment to respecting judicial rulings and ending the dispute definitively.
