Zambia in last-minute court bid to stop ex-president’s burial in South Africa

BBC

The Zambian government has filed an urgent case in a South African court seeking to stop the burial of former President Edgar Lungu, state media reports.

This is the latest twist in a row between the government and Lungu’s family over his burial, after the family opted for a private ceremony in South Africa, rather than a full state funeral at home.

The Zambian attorney general has requested the court to halt the burial, scheduled for Wednesday, until the dispute is resolved, state broadcaster ZNBC reports.

Local media quote the family as saying that the funeral would go ahead as planned, as they had not been served with court papers.

The dispute follows a long-standing feud between Lungu and his successor, President Hakainde Hichilema, with Lungu having indicated in his will that Hichilema should not attend his funeral.

Following Lungu’s death, the family wanted to be in charge of the funeral arrangements, including the repatriation of the body from South Africa where he died, but the Zambian authorities sought to take control.

The government and his family later agreed he would have a state funeral before relations broke down over the precise arrangements, prompting the family to opt for a burial in South Africa.

President Hichilema has since argued that Lungu, as a former president, “belongs to the nation of Zambia” and should be buried in the country.

In the court papers, the Zambian attorney general, Mulilo D Kabesha, reportedly contends that a state funeral is a formal public event with military honours, intended to honour a person of national significance.

He is suing the family, including former first lady Esther Lungu and four children, family lawyer Makebi Zulu and the funeral home where the body is being kept.

He argues that personal wishes should not override the greater public interest, citing the case of founding President Kenneth Kaunda.

In 2021, Kaunda’s family said he wanted to be laid to rest next to his wife and not at the site designated by the government.

However, the government went ahead and buried Kaunda at Embassy Memorial Park in Lusaka.

The current row over Lungu’s burial underscores the tense relationship between him and his successor, which played out in life and continues even in death.

When Lungu was president, Hichilema was locked up for over 100 days on treason charges after Hichilema’s motorcade allegedly refused to give way for him.