Zambia halts Lungu's SA funeral

The Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) ruled last week that the funeral service of former Zambian President Edgar Lungu should not go ahead in South Africa, pending an urgent application, reports News24. Essentially, the court has ruled in favour of the Zambian Government, which had sought to interdict the funeral from taking place last Wednesday. The decision was made after both parties came to an agreement. In his order, Deputy Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba said: ‘I just want to put it on record that this court appreciates the grief and pain of the family and relatives and the Zambian nation caused as a result of the interred President Lungu of Zambia, who passed on 5 June 2025. The deceased, especially as our culture as Africans, should be laid to his final resting place in a respectable manner.’ Ledwaba thanked both parties for reaching an agreement on the matter. He said by agreement between the parties, an order is made that the family ‘undertake not to proceed with the funeral and or burial of the late President pending the finalisation of the application’.

Parties who wish to intervene in this matter have until 18 July to file their applications, motions, and answering affidavits. Lungu was scheduled to be laid to rest on Wednesday in a private ceremony at the Christ the King Cathedral in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, defying Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema’s directive that the late resident’s remains be repatriated and buried in Zambia. Ledwaba’s costs for the urgent application are reserved and will be determined in the main application. Furthermore, the family has been granted permission to visit or inspect Lungu’s remains at the mortuary. The legal battle was sparked when Zambia’s Attorney-General, Mulilo Kabesha, filed an urgent application on Tuesday night to prevent the funeral from going ahead, according to News24. This move followed a failure to reach a consensus between the Lungu family and the Zambian Government regarding the planning of a state funeral. Lungu’s remains were originally set to be returned to Zambia last week. However, the process stalled after the family expressed concerns over being excluded from significant decisions related to the state funeral.

Full News24 report