23/06/2026
South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal Rules in Favour of Lungu Family in Burial Dispute
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) of South Africa has overturned a 2025 Gauteng High Court judgment that had authorised the Zambian Government to repatriate and bury former President Edgar Chagwa Lungu in Zambia with full state honours.
In a ruling delivered on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, the SCA upheld an appeal lodged by former First Lady Esther Lungu, members of the Lungu family and family spokesperson Makebi Zulu. The court found that the Zambian Government had failed to demonstrate any legal basis for overriding the family's wishes regarding the burial of the late former Head of State.
The appellate court set aside the earlier High Court decision and replaced it with an order dismissing the Government’s application in its entirety. It also ordered the Government to pay the legal costs of the appeal.
Delivering the majority judgment, Justice R.M. Keightley stated that South African constitutional protections relating to dignity, privacy and family autonomy, together with common law principles governing burial rights, supported the position of the Lungu family. The court held that the family retained the legal authority to determine how and where the former President should be buried.
The judgment noted that the Zambian Government had argued that it was entitled to repatriate Lungu’s remains and conduct a state funeral before his burial at Embassy Park in Lusaka. However, the court found that the Government had not provided sufficient evidence to show that Zambian law, custom or protocol granted it the power to make burial decisions contrary to the wishes of the deceased’s family.
The judges further observed that no expert evidence had been presented to substantiate claims concerning burial procedures for former Zambian presidents.
The SCA also dismissed the Government’s contention that a binding agreement had been reached with the family to return the body to Zambia for a state funeral. According to the court, exchanges between the two parties, including proposed funeral programmes, reflected ongoing negotiations rather than a concluded agreement.
The court accepted evidence from the family indicating that former President Lungu had repeatedly expressed a desire that President Hakainde Hichilema and the Zambian Government should not be involved in his funeral arrangements. The judges said this position was corroborated by testimony from family members and individuals close to the late President.
“The Zambian Government’s failure to establish a right under either the common law or contract to override the family’s burial decision is fatal to its case,” Justice Keightley said.
The court ultimately concluded that neither South African law nor the evidence presented justified interfering with the family’s decision regarding the burial of the former president. The appeal was therefore upheld, and the Government’s application dismissed with costs.
Former President Edgar Chagwa Lungu died in South Africa on June 5, 2025, while receiving treatment for terminal oesophageal cancer. His death sparked a lengthy dispute between his family and the Zambian Government over funeral and burial arrangements.
In a dissenting opinion, Justice Norman JA would have upheld the High Court judgment, arguing that an agreement existed between the parties for the repatriation and state burial of the former President. However, the majority ruling prevailed.
