South African Court Halts Burial of Zambia’s Ex-President Edgar Lungu Mid-Funeral

A South African High Court on Wednesday ordered an immediate halt to the burial of Zambia’s former president Edgar Lungu, as his funeral service was already underway in Pretoria.

Lungu, who passed away on June 5 while receiving medical treatment in South Africa, had become the center of a contentious dispute between his family and the Zambian government. The late leader, who served as president from 2015 to 2021, had been a political rival of current Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, who had planned to repatriate Lungu’s remains for a state funeral in Zambia.

However, Lungu’s family strongly opposed the arrangement, citing that the former president would not have wanted Hichilema to preside over his funeral. In response, they refused the repatriation of his body and chose to proceed with burial plans in South Africa — prompting the Zambian government to file a lawsuit in an attempt to stop the funeral.

The legal standoff reached a head on Wednesday, just as mourners including Lungu’s widow gathered for a church service in Pretoria. In a ruling delivered mid-ceremony, a Gauteng High Court judge announced that, following an agreement between both parties, “respondents undertake not to proceed with the funeral or burial of the late president.” The court scheduled a hearing on the matter for August 4.

The live ruling was broadcast on national television by SABC, which also aired scenes of the emotional service in progress.

Speaking to SABC News, Zambian lawmaker Chanda Katotobwe, who was present at the memorial, expressed deep frustration:
“The adjournment is extending the pain, the grief, that the family and the people are going through.”

The Patriotic Front (PF), Lungu’s political party, said he had been undergoing specialized treatment at a Pretoria clinic before his passing. The cause of death, at age 68, has not been publicly disclosed.