Developing Story: Lungu family clings on South Africa’s Supreme court to stop burial of late president in Zambia

The legal battle over the final resting place of former President Edgar Lungu has entered a new and decisive phase, with his family taking the matter to South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal.

In a notice of appeal filed following leave granted on December 23, 2025, the Lungu family moved to overturn a Gauteng High Court ruling that ordered the repatriation of the late former president’s remains to Zambia for a State funeral and burial at Embassy Park.

The appeal marks the latest chapter in a protracted legal fight that began months earlier. In September 2025, the family failed in its attempt to stop the enforcement of the High Court order instructing that Mr. Lungu’s body be handed over to Zambian authorities.

Court documents show that the family is contesting the entirety of the judgment delivered on August 8, 2025, by a Full Bench of the Gauteng Division in Pretoria, consisting of Ledwaba AJP, Modau ADJP and Potterill J. The judges had ruled in favour of the Zambian government and made no order as to costs.

Read more: Government officials arrive South Africa, as Zambia begins repatriation process for late President Edgar Lungu

In their appeal, the family is asking the Supreme Court of Appeal to set aside that judgment and replace it with an order dismissing the Zambian government’s application, with costs for two counsel.

“The appeal is upheld with costs,” the family proposed in the relief sought, arguing that the High Court erred in authorising the repatriation.

The case has now moved through several layers of South Africa’s judicial system following Mr. Lungu’s death on June 5, 2025. In August 2025, the Constitutional Court dismissed the family’s attempt to directly appeal the High Court ruling—closing one legal door but leaving another pathway open.

That opportunity emerged in December 2025, when the Supreme Court of Appeal granted leave to appeal, giving the family a renewed chance to challenge the decision that cleared the way for a State funeral in Zambia.

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