By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has granted the family of late Zambian President Edgar Lungu permission to challenge a High Court ruling that ordered his remains to be repatriated to Zambia for a state burial.
However, it set aside the High Court’s costs order in dismissing the initial leave application.
Lungu passed away on 5 June 2025 at a hospital in Pretoria, South Africa.
In its judgment, the Gauteng High Court held that there were no reasonable prospects of success for the appeal.
It also rejected the family’s contention that Zambian law had no extraterritorial effect and therefore should not apply in South Africa.
“As for the application of Zambian law, the court considered that the deceased was on a temporary visit to the Republic [of South Africa] for medical reasons,” the judgment reads.
The court further dismissed claims that Lungu had lost his benefits, highlighting that he still holds the status of a former president and is, therefore, entitled to burial benefits funded by the state upon his death.
It added that the agreement between the Zambian government and the family to hold a state funeral remained binding, despite assertions that Lungu had instructed that incumbent President Hakainde Hichilema should neither speak at nor attend his funeral.
The SCA addressed the Lungu family’s application for condonation due to late filing of their appeal.
The order specifies:
- Condonation as applied for is granted. The applicant for condonation is to pay costs of the application.
- Leave to appeal is granted to the Supreme Court of Appeal.
- The costs order of the court a quo in dismissing the application for leave to appeal is set aside AND the costs of the application for leave to appeal in this court and the court a quo are costs in the appeal. If the applicant does not proceed with the appeal, the applicant is to pay these costs.
The matter was all supposed to have been settled in June, when the family initially agreed that there could be a state funeral in Zambia. But the plans were scuppered over a dispute about what role Hichilema would play.
Lungu’s family said one of his dying wishes was that Hichilema should not go anywhere near his body.
The key to understanding the animosity was the more than 100 days that Hichilema, opposition leader at the time, spent in detention in 2017, awaiting trial on treason charges.
He was accused of endangering the life of then-President Lungu after his motorcade allegedly refused to give way to the one transporting the head of state.
The charges were only dropped after intervention of the secretary general of the Commonwealth. This was one of several times that Hichilema was arrested while he was in the opposition.
The Lungu family’s lawyer Neo Mashele says family is pleased with the outcome. He says they’ve respected SA courts and will continue to fight.