Once More, a South African Court Prevents the Return of the Remains of the Former President of Zambia

The repatriation of former Zambian president Edgar Lungu’s remains has been halted by a South African court, ending new plans for a public funeral and escalating a nearly ten-month-old conflict.

This is the most recent setback for President Hakainde Hichilema’s administration, which wants him buried in Zambia despite the family’s desire for South Africa, where he passed away in a hospital on June 5.

Mulilo Kabesha, the attorney general of Zambia, announced on Tuesday that a court had legally turned over the remains to the government following the family’s failure to file an appeal. The Pretoria High Court stated that Lungu’s family’s request for an injunction was “dealt with as one of extreme urgency” after it was made quickly.

The Zambian government was ordered by the court to return the remains to the family’s preferred private funeral home or other location. Judge Rochelle Francis-Subbiah stated that the injunction will be in effect until May 21.

A protracted legal dispute has been sparked by Lungu’s family’s continuous obstruction of efforts to return his body, claiming that he would not have wanted his successor Hichilema at his funeral.

In response, Zambia took action to stop his burial in South Africa while the service was already in progress. Lungu was a political opponent of Hichilema, who defeated him handily in 2021. He passed away on June 5 of last year at the age of 68.

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