Lungu’s Body Could Spend a Year in…

FORMER PresidentEdgar Lungu’sbody could remain in a foreign morgue for a full year if he is not buried within the next two months, as the legal and family-government dispute over his final resting place continues unresolved. yesterday marked exactly 10 months since Lungu died on June 5, 2025, at a clinic in South Africa. What began as a period of national mourning has since evolved into a prolonged and complex standoff involving his family and the Zambian government.

The situation took a dramatic turn when the Lungu family abruptly cancelled plans to repatriate his body to Zambia on June 17, 2025, despite preparations by the South African Defence Force to accord him a guard of honour. The move disrupted the national mourning period declared by PresidentHakainde Hichilemaand left many citizens uncertain about the way forward. In the days that followed, the family announced intentions to bury Lungu privately in South Africa on June 25, 2025.

However, just a day before the burial, Attorney GeneralMulilo Kabeshaobtained a court order from the Pretoria High Court halting the process. He argued that, as a former head of state, Lungu deserved a state funeral and burial in Zambia. The Pretoria High Court upheld this position and scheduled a hearing for August 4, 2025.

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In court filings, Lungu’s widowEsther Lungu, along with other family members, opposed repatriation, claiming that the former president had accepted dying in “exile” and did not wish for President Hichilema to be involved in his funeral. Government, however, countered that there was no credible evidence supporting those claims and maintained that the office of the presidency must be honoured regardless of political differences. On August 8, 2025, a full bench of the Pretoria High Court unanimously ruled that Lungu’s remains should be handed over to the Zambian government for repatriation and a state funeral.

Despite the ruling, the family continued their legal challenge, escalating the matter to South Africa’s Constitutional Court. However, on August 26, 2025, the court dismissed the appeal, stating that the matter should first be handled by the Pretoria High Court. Subsequently, on September 16, 2025, the Pretoria High Court, led by Acting Judge President Audrey Ledwaba, dismissed the family’s application for leave to appeal.

The family then took the matter to the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein, which in December granted them leave to appeal the earlier ruling that ordered repatriation of the body. As of now, it remains unclear whether the family has filed its submissions before the Supreme Court of Appeal, leaving the matter unresolved. The ongoing impasse has made Lungu the only former African head of state to remain unburied nearly a year after his death—an unprecedented situation that continues to draw public attention and concern.

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