By Perez Karisa,June 23, 2026
South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has handed a major victory to the family of former Zambian President Edgar Lungu, ruling that they have the constitutional right to determine where the late leader will be buried and effectively blocking efforts by the Zambian government to repatriate his remains for a state funeral in Lusaka.
In a landmark judgment delivered on Tuesday, the appellate court overturned an earlier ruling that had favoured the Zambian government, bringing to an end a prolonged legal battle that has kept Lungu’s body in South Africa for more than a year since his death on June 5, 2025.
The judges ruled that the wishes and rights of the family supersede claims by the state that the former president belonged to the nation and should be buried in Zambia with full state honours.
In the majority decision, the court held that “the common law and constitutional rights of the family prevail” over diplomatic conventions and protocols invoked by the Zambian government.
The court further found that the Pretoria High Court had erred in its August 2025 decision by attempting to apply Zambian public interest laws within South African territory, despite the dispute falling under South Africa’s constitutional framework.
The appellate judges also rejected claims by President Hakainde Hichilema’s administration that an enforceable agreement had been reached with Lungu’s family regarding the return of the body. According to the ruling, evidence presented before the court demonstrated that negotiations between the two sides had broken down and no binding agreement existed.
In her observations, Justice Arlene Keightley noted that Edgar Lungu had considered himself unwelcome in Zambia during the latter years of his life and had legitimate concerns about the manner in which his funeral would be handled.
The court accepted arguments by his widow, Esther Lungu, that the former president had explicitly expressed his desire not to have his political rival and successor, President Hichilema, involved in his funeral arrangements.
According to court documents, Lungu had instructed his family that President Hichilema should “come nowhere near” his body or preside over any funeral ceremonies.
The dispute over his burial evolved into an extension of the bitter political rivalry that defined relations between the two leaders for years.
While the Zambian government argued that former heads of state belong to the nation and should be laid to rest among other past leaders at Embassy Park in Lusaka, the family insisted that Lungu deserved a private and dignified burial away from political interference.
The standoff reached a dramatic peak in April 2026 when the Zambian government briefly obtained custody of the body after a lower court ruling. However, the family successfully secured an emergency injunction that stopped plans to transfer the remains to Lusaka, forcing authorities to return the body to a Pretoria mortuary.
The latest ruling effectively restores full control of the burial arrangements to Lungu’s family, paving the way for a private funeral and burial in South Africa.
Legal experts say the judgment reinforces constitutional protections relating to family rights and bodily dignity while underscoring the limits of state authority in matters involving burial and funeral arrangements.
Although the Supreme Court of Appeal is South Africa’s second-highest court, the Zambian government still retains the option of filing a final appeal before the Constitutional Court. However, such appeals are only granted in exceptional circumstances involving constitutional issues of national importance.
For now, the ruling clears the way for the Lungu family to proceed with plans for a private burial service in South Africa, bringing closer an end to one of the most politically charged and emotionally contentious disputes in Zambia’s recent history.
The case has attracted widespread attention across southern Africa, with observers describing it as a rare legal and political battle that continued long after the death of a former head of state, reflecting the deep divisions that marked Zambia’s political landscape during and after Edgar Lungu’s presidency.
