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The High Court in Pretoria, South Africa, on Wednesday suspended the burial of Zambia’s sixth Republican President, Edgar Chagwa Lungu, following a legal challenge by the Zambian government.
The urgent application, filed by Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha, questioned the family’s decision to lay the former president to rest in South Africa. The court directed Mr Kabesha to file detailed arguments by July 3, explaining why Mr Lungu should not be buried outside Zambia.
The matter will be heard as a special motion on August 4, 2025. However, Kabesha expressed optimism that a consensus could be reached before then.
“This time allows us to continue dialogue and possibly reach consensus. There’s no need to wait until August if we can agree sooner,” said Kabesha. “He went to South Africa for medical care. He was not a refugee. Morally, culturally, and spiritually, he must be buried in Zambia.”
But the government’s position has drawn sharp criticism from the late president’s lawyer, Makebi Zulu, who accused the State of using Mr Lungu’s death as a public relations stunt aimed at the international community.
Read More: Developing Story: South African court halts burial of ex-Zambian President Lungu
“They are pretending to care when, in fact, they persecuted him and cast him away.The truth is they abandoned him. It appears Hakainde Hichilema will not give the late President a dignified burial in Zambia.”
He said the family’s sole intention was to ensure Mr Lungu received an honourable burial, not one “shrouded in mockery or used to portray an image that he was properly treated, when that was not the case.”
Zulu added that those who ignored Mr Lungu in his final days should not now attempt to speak for him.
“No one engaged President Hichilema about Edgar Lungu when he was alive. Now that he is dead, people want to speak for him but where were they when he needed them?” he asked.
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