By Joseph Kamanga
The family of late former president Edgar Lungu has taken their battle over his burial to South Africa’s Constitutional Court, pleading with judges to stop his remains from being repatriated to Zambia for a state funeral.
A week ago, the Pretoria High Court ruled in favour of the Zambian government, allowing the body to be flown home.
But yesterday, former First Lady Esther Lungu, together with six close family members, filed an urgent application asking the highest court in South Africa to set aside that ruling.
In their affidavit, the family described burial arrangements as an intimate and deeply personal matter which should be guided by dignity, privacy, and wishes of the deceased.
Mrs Lungu told the court that no family should be compelled to lay a loved one to rest in a manner dictated by the state. She revealed that her late husband had been clear about his final wishes before his passing on June 5, 2025 and that he wanted a private burial.
According to the affidavit, Lungu specifically requested that “those who did not care for him while he was alive” should not attend his funeral. According to the court documents, the former president singled out President Hakainde Hichilema, with whom he had a strained relationship, as someone he did not want near his casket or speaking at his service.
“President Lungu expressed his wishes and made it clear that if he were to pass on, he did not want those who did not care for him while he was still alive to be anywhere near his body,” the affidavit reads.
The family is asking the Constitutional Court to urgently grant them leave to appeal directly to it, to overturn the High Court’s decision, and to make any party opposing their application bear the legal costs.
The applicants include Esther Lungu, her children Tasila, Dalitso, and Chiyeso, as well as Lungu’s sister Bertha, his nephew Charles Phiri, and family lawyer Makebi Zulu. The respondents are the Government of the Republic of Zambia, funeral services provider Two Mountains Burial Services, and South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation.
During proceedings yesterday, the Lungu family’s lawyer, Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi SC, informed the High Court that discussions were underway between the family and the Zambian government to explore a possible compromise. Both sides agreed to postpone the appeal hearing to Monday, August 18, 2025, to give room for negotiations.
The High Court has expressed hope that the dispute can be resolved in a way that honours both the law and the late president’s wishes.
Lungu died in South Africa on June 5, 2025, after being hospitalised there, leaving his family and country wrestling not just with grief, but also with the question of how his final journey should be honoured.
©️ Zambia Reports, August 16, 2025.