A South African court on Friday ordered the repatriation of former Zambian president Edgar Lungu’s body to Zambia for a state funeral, siding with the Zambian government over his family’s wishes to bury him in Johannesburg.
Lungu, who led Zambia from 2015 to 2021, died in South Africa on June 5 while receiving medical treatment. Plans for his burial in Johannesburg on June 25 were halted just hours before the ceremony, after Zambia’s government approached the court to request his return for an official state burial in the capital, Lusaka.
The government argued that, in line with tradition since independence from Britain in 1964, all former presidents should be buried at a designated site in Lusaka. Lungu’s family opposed the move, saying he did not want his successor and political rival, President Hakainde Hichilema, present at his funeral.
Delivering the ruling in Pretoria, the judge ordered that Lungu’s body be handed over to a representative of Zambia’s court system for immediate repatriation.
Lungu’s sister, Bertha Lungu, wept as the decision was read, while Zambia’s Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha welcomed the judgment, calling it “a decision that honours the dignity of our late president.”
Lungu’s presidency was marked by both praise and controversy. He was lauded for spearheading a massive road-building programme but also criticised for amassing a large national debt, which Zambia continues to struggle to restructure.
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