Edgar Lungu’s family wins legal battle to keep his body in South Africa

In a pronounced vindication for the late ex‑President, the Supreme Court of Appeal today ruled that Edgar Lungu’s remains must remain in South Africa, where the former leader died. The decision ends a long‑running dispute over the fate of his body that has split families, the Zambian state and the South‑African judiciary.

The court overruled a 2023 Pretoria High Court ruling that had allowed the Zambian government to repatriate Lungu’s corpse for a state funeral in Lusaka. The final appeal, filed by Lungu’s relatives, argues that the former head of state had clearly expressed that he did not wish his successor to be present at his burial—wishing instead for a private ceremony far from the political epicentre of his country.

Lungu, who served as Zambia’s president from 2015 to 2021, died on 13 June 2026 in a Pretoria clinic from an undisclosed illness, aged 68. His death triggered a constitutional showdown. The Zambian government, citing his past status as a former head of state, sought to lay him to rest in the presidential burial ground in Lusaka. In contrast, his family insisted that a dignified private internment elsewhere was necessary, citing Lungu’s stated wishes and the ongoing feud with successor President Hakainde Hichilema.

The Supreme Court’s judgment highlighted the personal isolation Lungu felt in his homeland, stating that he “viewed himself to be persona non grata in his own country” and would not receive a dignified send‑off if his rival was present. Justice Raylene May Keightley noted that the ruling “pitted family against the state in a hard‑fought legal dispute far from the protagonists’ home.”

While the Zambian government has publicly declared that it will not pursue the issue further, the court’s decision effectively seals the fate of Lungu’s body in South Africa, and will likely set a precedent for future post‑humous disputes in the region.

Additional reporting by Nomsa Maseko in Johannesburg.