Zambia takes possession of Lungu's remains after family appeal lapses

Former president's body transferred from South Africa ten months after death amid dispute over burial arrangements.

The Zambian government has taken possession of former President Edgar Lungu's remains in South Africa following the lapse of the family's appeal against a court order authorizing repatriation.¹²

Lungu died on 5 June 2025 at a clinic in Pretoria at age 68.¹² A Gauteng High Court judgment issued in August 2025 entitled the government to repatriate the remains for a state funeral and burial.¹

The government executed the court order after the Lungu family failed to meet deadlines for an expedited appeal timeline that had been approved by the Supreme Court of Appeal.¹ Zambia's Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha said in a statement that the transfer followed the family's "inability to proceed with their case" at the appeals court.²

Makebi Zulu, spokesman for the Lungu family, disputed that the appeals process had lapsed, telling a Zambian YouTube news channel on Wednesday evening that correct procedure had been followed.² The family's lawyers subsequently filed an urgent application to the South African high court seeking the body's return to the funeral home where it had been kept.²

The government has maintained that Lungu, as a former head of state, should be honored with burial alongside his predecessors in the presidential burial ground in Lusaka.² The family wanted a private burial after negotiations with the government over funeral arrangements broke down.²

Lungu led Zambia from 2015 until 2021, when he lost election to his successor, President Hakainde Hichilema.² The repatriation dispute follows a long-standing feud between Lungu and Hichilema.² It remains unclear when the repatriation process will begin.¹