Edgar Chagwa Lungu (left) and Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema (middle)
The Gauteng High Court in South Africa has set August 15 as the date for considering the late former Zambian President, Edgar Chagwa Lungu’s family’s application for leave to appeal a Pretoria High Court ruling ordering that President Lungu’s body be handed over to the Zambian government for a state funeral.
Lawyer and spokesperson for the Lungu family, Makebi Zulu, in an interview with Newzroom Afrika, says the appeal is necessary because “the court did not address the gravamen of the matter” but focused narrowly on a purported agreement between the family and the Zambian government.
According to Mr. Zulu, “In its ruling, the court talked about pacta sunt servanda that agreements must be respected but then went further to change the concessions that were reached by the family.”
The lawyer says “We had agreed that the body would be repatriated privately by the family into Zambia, where he could be accorded a state funeral. The court instead ordered that the sheriff collect the body from the undertaker and hand it over to the Zambian government, excluding the family from the process. That is one ground of appeal.”
Mr. Zulu says the court failed to address key constitutional and human rights questions, including the family’s right to dignity and who, as next of kin, is entitled to the body.
He also questioned the South African court’s jurisdiction over matters involving Zambia’s internal affairs.
The family maintains that President Lungu died as a private citizen after being stripped of state benefits amid allegations of reentering active politics.
“You cannot vilify someone in life, deny them access to medical care, and then thrust honours upon them in death,” according to Mr. Zulu, saying “That is a mockery to the family.”
Touching on how long the trial might take, lawyer Zulu says the doesn’t mind waiting, insisting that the family’s priority is dignity, not speed.
According to him, “The point for the family is just one: to give the former president a dignified send-off. What is perceived as dignified by the family is not the government being in charge of the burial. That is the decision of the family, not the state.”
He says “If invitations are to be extended, they will be extended to necessary people. We respect the South African government and would not want to antagonise relations between South Africa and Zambia. But the remains belong to the family and we would like that to be respected.”
Since the Pretoria High Court ruled in favour of the Zambian government, the family and many Zambians have faced public ridicule. A cabinet minister from Muchinga Province went viral celebrating that “akatumbi kaleisa,” a derogatory phrase meaning a small or insignificant person’s corpse was arriving, while the United Party for National Development (UPND) joined in the celebrations.
Many patriotic Zambians condemned this behaviour as deeply insensitive, noting the pain it caused the grieving family.
This public mockery has reinforced the family’s conviction that President Lungu cannot receive a genuine, dignified send-off from the current government.