South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal ruled Tuesday in favor of Edgar Lungu’s family, rejecting the Zambian government’s bid to take custody of his remains and bring them home for burial at a leaders’ cemetery.
For more than a year, the question of where Edgar Lungu would be buried has stayed tangled in court filings and political bitterness. Then, on Tuesday, South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal moved the case toward an end.
The panel rejected the Zambian government’s claim of custody over Lungu’s body and overturned a South African court decision that had ordered the family to hand over his remains to Zambia for repatriation.
Lungu, 68, died in South Africa on June 5, 2025. His body has been at a mortuary while the legal battle played out. The Zambian government argued that he should be buried at a cemetery set aside for the African nation’s leaders. His family disagreed and chose to bury him in South Africa.
The dispute carried the weight of Zambia’s long-running political divisions. It continued a rivalry between Lungu and his political opponent-turned-president, Hakainde Hichilema, after Lungu’s death. Lungu’s family said it was honoring his last wishes by keeping Hichilema away from his body and not allowing him to preside over a state funeral in Zambia.
That tension was visible during a funeral service in South Africa last June. The family’s service was interrupted after the Zambian government filed an urgent court case contending that the country’s customs and protocols required Lungu to be buried at the national cemetery in his home country.
In its ruling, South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal said that “the common law and constitutional rights of family prevail” over the Zambian government’s claim.
The Supreme Court of Appeal is South Africa’s second-highest court. The Zambian government could appeal the decision to the Constitutional Court.
Lungu served as president of Zambia from 2015 to 2021, twice beating Hichilema in elections. During Lungu’s presidency. Hichilema—then the opposition leader—was imprisoned for four months on treason charges that were ultimately dropped. After Lungu lost an election to Hichilema in 2021. Lungu later claimed he had been effectively put under house arrest by authorities acting on Hichilema’s instructions.
Tuesday’s ruling does not erase that political history. But it does close the door—at least for now—on the Zambian government’s attempt to take custody of Lungu’s remains, leaving his family’s chosen plan for burial in South Africa in place, unless higher courts intervene.
Edgar Lungu Hakainde Hichilema burial dispute South Africa Supreme Court of Appeal Zambian government custody of remains repatriation national cemetery