The burial saga of former Zambian president Edgar Lungu took a dramatic turn on Thursday after South African courts issued conflicting directives within hours, first transferring custody of his remains to the Zambian government before an urgent intervention reversed the move and ordered the body returned to a funeral facility.
On Wednesday, the High Court in Pretoria confirmed that Lungu’s remains had been handed to Zambian authorities, acting on an August 2025 ruling that authorised the state to repatriate the body for a state funeral.
Zambia’s Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha said the transfer followed the family’s failure to advance its appeal before the Supreme Court of Appeal, and the remains were moved from Two Mountains Burial Services to a South African government facility.
But the legal position shifted rapidly.
Following an urgent application by members of the Lungu family, the Supreme Court of Appeal ordered an immediate halt to any further movement of the remains and directed that the body be returned to Two Mountains Funeral Parlour or another mortuary chosen by the applicants.
Family spokesperson Makebi Zulu said the ruling effectively suspended the earlier transfer and compelled both governments to reverse actions already taken.
“The Supreme Court has just given us a stay. The Government of Zambia and the Government of South Africa have been ordered to take back the body to Two Mountains Funeral Parlour,” Zulu said.
Court documents show that several family members, including Esther, Bertha and Tasila Lungu, were listed as applicants, with respondents including the South African Police Service and the Zambian government.
The court also instructed respondents to appear and show cause why they should not be cited for contempt, signalling the seriousness of the dispute.
The conflicting orders add a new layer of complexity to a saga that has dragged on since Lungu’s death in Pretoria on 5 June 2025.
His burial has been delayed for nearly a year amid a standoff between the family – which insists on a private funeral – and the Zambian government, which maintains that as a former head of state he should be buried at the presidential burial site in Lusaka with full honours.
Last August, the Pretoria High Court ruled in favour of the Zambian government but the family appealed.
The appellate court’s intervention has now paused any repatriation until at least 21 May, when the matter returns to court.
The latest twist leaves Lungu’s remains once again under contested custody, prolonging a dispute that has become both a legal and political flashpoint between the family and the state.
JN/APA