A dramatic legal battle over the final resting place of former Zambian President Edgar Lungu has taken another major twist.
South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal has ruled in favor of Lungu’s family, rejecting the Zambian government’s attempt to take custody of his remains and return them to Zambia for burial.
The landmark ruling, delivered on Tuesday, overturns an earlier court decision that had ordered the family to hand over Lungu’s body to the Zambian state.
Lungu died in South Africa on June 5, 2025, at the age of 68. Since then, a bitter dispute has erupted over where the former president should be laid to rest.
The Zambian government wanted Lungu buried at a special cemetery reserved for former national leaders. His family, however, insisted on burying him in South Africa, saying they were honoring his final wishes.
At the center of the controversy is Lungu’s long-running political feud with current Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema.
According to family members, Lungu specifically requested that Hichilema should not come near his body or oversee any state funeral arrangements.
The dispute became so intense that funeral plans in South Africa were disrupted after the Zambian government launched an urgent court challenge, arguing that national customs and state protocol required the former head of state to be buried in Zambia.
In its ruling, the South African appeals court declared that the family’s constitutional and common law rights outweighed the Zambian government’s claim over the remains.
The decision marks a significant victory for Lungu’s relatives after months of legal and political wrangling.
However, the battle may not be completely over. The Zambian government still has the option of taking the matter to South Africa’s Constitutional Court.
Lungu served as Zambia’s president from 2015 to 2021. During his time in office, he twice defeated Hichilema in presidential elections. Their rivalry remained one of Zambia’s most contentious political battles, continuing even after Lungu’s death.
For now, the family appears to have secured the right to decide where the former president will be buried, bringing one of southern Africa’s most closely watched legal disputes a step closer to an end.
