By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Zambian authorities have instituted a suit before a South African court seeking to stop the burial of former President, Edgar Lungu, outside his home country, state media reports.
This is the latest twist in a row between the government and Lungu’s family over his burial, after the family opted for a private ceremony in South Africa, rather than a government-proposed full state burial in the Southern African country where he ruled for six years.
State broadcaster ZNBC quoted Zambian Attorney General as requesting the court to suspend the burial scheduled for Wednesday, until the dispute between the state and the family is resolved.
Local media, however, says Lungu’s family has insisted that the funeral would go ahead as planned, as they are yet to be served with court papers on the request.
The dispute that has refused to settle even in death follows a long-standing feud between Lungu and his successor, President Hakainde Hichilema.
Hichilema defeated Lungu in a 2021 presidential election, after which Lungu announced his retirement from active politics. He, however, made a surprise comeback, saying he would seek election in 2026.
Lungu’s family said the former President had placed a demand that Hichilema should not attend his funeral.
The family wanted to be in charge of the funeral arrangements, including the repatriation of Lungu’s body from South Africa, where he died, but the Zambian government wanted control of the process, opting to give the former leader a state burial.
The government and his family later agreed he would have a state funeral, but it was short-lived as relations broke down again over the precise arrangements. The family thereafter opted to hold the funeral 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 the court papers, the Zambian Attorney General, Mulilo D. Kabesha, reportedly argues that a state funeral is a formal public event with military honours, intended to honour a person of national significance.
He is suing the family, including former First Lady Esther Lungu and four children, family lawyer Makebi Zulu, and the funeral home where the body is being kept.
He argues that personal wishes should not override the greater public interest, citing the case of founding President Kenneth Kaunda.
In 2021, Kaunda’s family said he wanted to be laid to rest next to his wife and not at the site designated by the government.
However, the government went ahead and buried Kaunda at Embassy Memorial Park in Lusaka.
When Lungu was president, Hichilema was locked up for over 100 days on treason charges after Hichilema’s motorcade allegedly refused to give way for him.
