PRETORIA, South Africa (BN24) — A South African court halted the burial of Zambia’s late President Edgar Lungu at the last moment Tuesday, deepening an already tense dispute between his family and the Zambian government over where and how the former leader should be laid to rest.
The burial was scheduled to take place immediately following a private funeral mass in South Africa, but mourners were informed of the abrupt legal intervention only after the service had concluded. The Pretoria High Court’s ruling effectively delays any funeral until at least August, marking the latest development in a bitter standoff that began shortly after Lungu’s death.
Lungu, who died in South Africa earlier this month at age 68, was Zambia’s sixth president and had long maintained a contentious relationship with his successor, President Hakainde Hichilema. That acrimony has now spilled into the debate over his final resting place.
The Zambian government filed an urgent application with the Pretoria High Court to prevent the planned private burial, insisting that Lungu be accorded a state funeral on home soil. The court announced that the funeral could not proceed, citing an “agreement between the parties,” and scheduled a full hearing for August 4, 2025.
As part of the ruling, Zambian Attorney General Mulilo D. Kabesha must submit amended court filings by July 4, while Lungu’s family has until July 11 to respond. The court will also determine who bears the legal costs of the halted burial during that August hearing.
The standoff highlights longstanding tensions between Lungu and Hichilema that date back to their time in office. During Lungu’s presidency, Hichilema was jailed for over 100 days on controversial treason charges after his motorcade allegedly refused to yield to Lungu’s convoy. That legacy of political animosity has lingered, now resurfacing around Lungu’s death.
According to the family, Lungu expressed a desire not to have President Hichilema attend his funeral. They opted for a private burial in South Africa, asserting control over the arrangements and repatriation of the body. Initially, both parties had agreed on a state funeral in Zambia, but that consensus collapsed amid disagreements over the specifics.
President Hichilema has since argued that Lungu, as a former head of state, “belongs to the nation of Zambia” and must be buried there. Government officials further contend that individual wishes cannot supersede national interest, referencing the 2021 case of founding President Kenneth Kaunda. Despite Kaunda’s reported desire to be buried beside his wife, he was laid to rest at Lusaka’s Embassy Memorial Park by government directive.
The Lungu burial saga underscores the fragile political reconciliation in Zambia, where past rivalries continue to reverberate. For now, Lungu’s body remains in limbo, with South Africa temporarily serving as the stage for a dispute that has become a symbolic extension of Zambia’s deeply divided political legacy.
