The family of the late former Zambian president Edgar Lungu has escalated their legal fight over his burial to South Africa’s Constitutional Court, asking the country’s highest judicial authority to block the repatriation of his remains to Zambia for a state funeral.
Last week, the Pretoria High Court ruled in favour of the Zambian government, allowing the body to be flown back home. However, yesterday, former First Lady Esther Lungu and six close family members submitted an urgent application to the Constitutional Court seeking to overturn that decision.
In their affidavit, the family argued that burial arrangements are an intimate and deeply personal issue that should be guided by the wishes of the deceased, dignity, and privacy. Mrs. Lungu told the court that no family should be forced to bury their loved one in a manner dictated by the state, adding that her late husband had made his desire for a private burial clear before his death on June 5, 2025.
According to the affidavit, Lungu explicitly stated that “those who did not care for him while he was alive” should not be present at his funeral. The documents note that he specifically 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 funeral 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 states.
The Lungu family is now asking the Constitutional Court to urgently grant them leave to appeal directly to it, to overturn the High Court’s decision, and to order any party opposing their application to cover the legal costs.
The applicants listed in the case are Esther Lungu, her children Tasila, Dalitso and Chiyeso, the late president’s sister Bertha, his nephew Charles Phiri and family lawyer Makebi Zulu. The respondents include the Government of the Republic of Zambia, funeral service provider Two Mountains Burial Services, and South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation.
During yesterday’s court session, the family’s lawyer, Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi SC, informed the High Court that discussions were ongoing between the family and the Zambian government to explore a possible compromise. With both parties agreeing to allow time for these talks, the appeal hearing has been postponed to Monday, August 18, 2025.
The High Court has expressed optimism that the dispute can be resolved in a manner that respects both the law and the late president’s expressed wishes.
Edgar Lungu passed away in South Africa on June 5, 2025 after being hospitalised there, leaving behind a nation not only mourning his death, but also grappling with how best to honour his final journey.
