Pretoria High Court Judge Aubrey Ledwaba halted the planned burial of former Zambian President Edgar Lungu on 25 June 2025.
However, Zambia’s Attorney General, Mulilo D. Kabesha, filed an urgent interim interdict application after Lungu’s family planned a private burial.
According to the Zambian government, burial in Embassy Park is permitted by both national custom and the Presidential Burial Site Act.
However, the Act does not make this mandatory.
PRETORIA HIGH COURT SETS LEGAL DEADLINES
The Pretoria High Court set strict legal deadlines. The Zambian government must respond by 4 July, and the Lungu family by 11 July 2025.
The final hearing is set for 4 August 2025. The Johannesburg mortuary allows Lungu’s family to view the remains, but burial awaits the court’s decision.
LUNGU FAMILY CLAIMS
The family lawyer, Makebi Zulu, said the late president asked current President Hakainde Hichilema not to attend his funeral.
The Patriotic Front (PF) claims that this decision violates the family’s autonomy and the deceased president’s final wishes.
CONTROVERSY OF LAW
The Zambian government cites the 2008 Burial Site Act (Cap 264) to justify burial at Embassy Park.
However, the Act only permits burial at Embassy Park; it does not require it. The family or government will decide.
While it makes provisions for pensions, housing, staff, medical care, and funeral expenses, the Former Presidents Act No. 21 of 1993 makes no mention of burial rights or locations.
Hence, the demands of the state outweigh the wishes of President Lungu and his family, raising constitutional concerns regarding the executive branch’s bounds (Presidential Burial Site Act, Cap 264).
PUBLIC REACTION AND REGIONAL IMPLICATIONS
After the Pretoria High Court decided to postpone the burial of former Zambian President Edgar Lungu, mourners gathered for a prayer session at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Johannesburg on 25 June 2025.
The Zambian government and Lungu’s family were clearly at odds over burial rights as a result of the court’s intervention.
The case demonstrates the growing legal and political challenges associated with handling the deaths of political figures who cross international borders, particularly when the state and family cannot agree on a burial location.
COULD UNRESOLVED BURIAL DISPUTES AFFECT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ZAMBIA AND SOUTH AFRICA?
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