Zambia in last-minute court bid to stop ex-president’s burial in South Africa

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Zambia in last-minute court bid to stop ex-president’s burial in South Africa

The Zambian government has filed an urgent matter before a South African court to arrest the burial of former president Edgar Lungu, reports the state media.

This is the last consecutive turn between the government and Lungu family on their burial, after the family has opted for a private ceremony in South Africa, rather than state funerals at home.

The Zambian prosecutor general asked the court to stop the burial, scheduled for Wednesday, until the dispute is resolved, reports the ZNBC state diffuser.

Local media quote the family saying that the funeral would continue as planned, because they had not been signified with court documents.

The dispute follows a longtime quarrel between Lungu and his successor, President Hakande Hichilema, with Lungu having indicated in his will that Hichilema should not attend his funeral.

After Lungu’s death, the family wanted to be in charge of funeral arrangements, including the repatriation of the South African organization where he died, but the Zambian authorities sought to take control.

The government and his family later agreed that he would have state funerals before relations decompose precise arrangements, inciting the family to opt for a burial in South Africa.

President Hichilema has since argued that Lungu, as a former president, “belongs to the Nation of Zambia” and should be buried in the country.

In court documents, the Zambian Attorney General, Mulilo D Kabesha, maintains that a state burial is an official public event with military honors, intended to honor a person of national importance.

He continued the family, notably the former first lady Esther Lungu and four children, the lawyer for the Makebi Zulu family and the funeral show where the body is kept.

He maintains that personal wishes should not be over the greatest public interest, citing the case of founding president Kenneth Kaunda.

In 2021, Kaunda’s family said he wanted to be buried next to his wife and not on the government designated by the government.

However, the government went ahead and buried Kaunda at the Embassy Memorial Park in Lusaka.

The current row on Lungu’s burial underlines the tense relationship between him and his successor, which took place in life and continues even in death.

When Lungu was president, Hichilema was locked up for more than 100 days for accusations of betrayal after the procession of Hichilema refused to give way to him.