South Africa Court Weighs Feud Over the Body of Zambia’s Former President Lungu

By MICHELLE GUMEDE

11:11 AM EDT, May 29, 2026

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A bitter feud over whether the body of Zambia’s former President Edgar Lungu should return to his country for a state funeral or stay in South Africa for burial went before a South African appeals court Friday, nearly a year after his death.

Lungu, who was Zambia’s leader from 2015 to 2021, died of an undisclosed illness in a South African hospital on June 5, 2025 at the age of 68.

He has not yet been buried because of a tug-of-war between his family and his long-time rival, current Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema.

Hichilema wants Lungu’s body returned for a state ceremony, and his government won a ruling in August from the Pretoria High Court that the remains be turned over to Zambian diplomats for repatriation.

However, Lungu’s family wanted to bury him in South Africa because they objected to any funeral arrangements involving his bitter rival Hichilema, and appealed the ruling before South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal.

In arguments Friday in the city of Bloemfontein, family lawyer Tembeka Ngcukaitobi argued that the Zambian government’s claim to a state burial was unwarranted since Lungu’s presidential benefits were revoked prior to his death. He insisted that a widow’s wishes should take precedence in burial decisions.

A lawyer for the Zambian government, Ben Stoop, argued that the family and the government previously had agreed that Hichilema would attend the funeral and receive dignitaries, and that the family later violated this agreement.

The five justices who heard the appeal questioned the absence of any explicit instructions that Lungu intended to be buried in South Africa, even though it may be true that he would not have wanted his successor to conduct his funeral.

The court did not say when a ruling would be issued.