The remains of former Zambian President Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu will not be moved from South Africa following the successful filing of an urgent appeal by his widow and family against a court order for repatriation.

The South African High Court, Gauteng Division in Pretoria, had earlier ruled in favour of an application by the Attorney General of the Republic of Zambia to return Lungu’s body to Zambia for burial. However, the family lodged an urgent appeal challenging the “whole judgment and order” issued by Judge Ledwaba.

Under South African law, the filing of a notice of appeal generally acts as an automatic stay of execution of a judgment, halting enforcement until the appeal is decided. This principle is rooted in Section 18 of the Superior Courts Act of 2013, which states that “unless the court under exceptional circumstances orders otherwise, the operation and execution of a decision which is the subject of an application for leave to appeal or of an appeal, is suspended pending the decision of the application or appeal.”

South Africa’s hybrid legal system—combining Roman-Dutch law, English common law, and customary law—recognises that while a notice of appeal typically suspends a judgment, exceptions can be made. In such cases, the winning party must demonstrate irreparable harm if the order is not enforced and that the losing party will not suffer irreparable harm if it is.

The stay in this case means Lungu’s body will remain in Pretoria until the appeal is heard. The BBC reports that private security services have been engaged to guard the remains at the morgue following repeated attempts to remove the body without authorisation.

Legal experts say it is unlikely the Zambian government will attempt to move the body before the appeal is resolved, as doing so could violate South African law. The Sheriff of the Court is not expected to sign any enforcement orders while the appeal is pending.

Yesterday, the Pretoria High Court in South Africa authorized and ordered Two Mountains, the funeral parlour keeping the body of the late former President of Zambia, Edgar Lungu, to immediately surrender his body to the Zambian government for repatriation and burial.

In a landmark judgment delivered in South Africa today, Judge Aubrey Ledwaba, sitting together with two other judges, ordered that Two Mountains should, upon being served with the court order by the Sheriff of the Pretoria High Court, immediately surrender the body of the late Mr Lungu to the representative of the Zambian government.

“The eighth respondent is authorized and ordered upon service of the court order by the Sheriff of this Honourable Court to immediately surrender the body of the Late President Lungu to a representative or representatives of the Zambian High Commission to enable the applicant to repatriate the body to Zambia for the purposes stated in paragraph 4 above,” Judge Ledwaba read the judgment in court.

Paragraph four of the judgment is an order that the applicant, which is the government of the Republic of Zambia, is entitled to repatriate the body of the late Mr Lungu for a state funeral and burial thereafter at Embassy Park in Lusaka.

The court further ordered and authorized that the former first lady, Esther Lungu and the late Mr Lungu’s family, including Mr Makebi Zulu, the late former President’s lawyer, should be present when the body of the late Mr Lungu is surrendered to the government of Zambia and repatriated for the state funeral and burial at Embassy Park in Lusaka.

“The First to Seventh Respondents are authorized to be present when paragraphs 4 and 5 of this order are executed, and an Aide De Camp, the late president’s physician, and two family members may accompany the coffin containing the body of the late President Lungu during the repatriation,” Judge Ledwaba said.

The judge added that there is no order as to costs, which includes reserved costs.

And the Pretoria High Court has ruled that the wish of the late former President not to be accorded a state funeral cannot override public interest.
Referring to the case of The People v Secretary to the Cabinet Ex parte Kaweche Kaunda (HP768 of 2021) [2021] ZMHC 6 (7 July 2021), Judge Ledwaba said public interest can override personal wishes.
He said in this regard, the court (Pretoria High Court) referred to the case of The People v Secretary to the Cabinet Ex parte Kaweche Kaunda (HP768 of 2021) [2021] ZMHC 6 (7 July 2021).
“That court stated that a state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rule of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. In addition to that, even if it was a personal wish of the late President not to be accorded a state funeral, such a wish must be overridden by the public interest,” the judge ruled.

Judge Ledwaba observed in his judgment that the late President Lungu, like any other President in established democracies around the world, deserves to be buried with the necessary dignity.
“This court cannot bar a President of another country from attending a state funeral,” he said in the judgment, noting that there is no doubt that the current President of Zambia would be involved in receiving foreign dignitaries as Head of State of the host country.

On the issue of whether Zambian or South African law is applicable, the Pretoria High Court considered the decision of Society of Lloyd’s supra; one has to determine a flexible and sensitive manner in which the legal system has the closest and most real connection to the dispute.
In legal terminology, ‘supra’ means ‘above.’

“The domicile, habitual residence and nationality of the late President and the family are connecting factors that would point to the Zambian law as proper lex causae,” he said.
Lex causae is a Latin legal term which means ‘the law of the cause’ referring to the law that governs the substantive rights and obligations of parties in a legal dispute, rather than the procedural rules of the court.

Former President Lungu died on June 5, 2025, at a private hospital in South Africa. He was 68 years old.

On 24th June 2025, Zambia’s Attorney General, Mulilo Kabesha, representing the government, launched an urgent application in the Pretoria High Court for an order to, among other things, seek that the funeral parlour (Two Mountains) be ordered to keep and to preserve the body of the late former President Lungu and not to remove or dispose of it in any manner pending the finalization of the application seeking its repatriation.

The urgent application followed the earlier decision by the Lungu family to bury the body in South Africa at a private funeral, citing some disagreements with the government of Zambia.
The following day, on 25 June 2025, the Pretoria High Court, pursuant to an agreement by the parties ordered that the funeral and burial of the late President Lungu be suspended pending the determination of the main application.

And speaking after the judgment, Mr Kabesha, said the ruling by the Pretoria High Court ‘makes good sense’ because the late Mr Lungu belonged to the Zambia.

The late Mr Lungu led Zambia as President from 2015 until August 2021.

A South African court has ruled that the late former Zambian President Edgar Chagwa Lungu must be buried in Zambia, siding with the Zambian government in a high-profile legal battle with his family over his final resting place.

The ruling, delivered in Johannesburg, upholds the government’s position that Mr. Lungu’s burial should take place at Embassy Park, the official presidential burial site in Lusaka reserved for heads of state. The court’s decision follows weeks of legal wrangling between the State and the Lungu family, who had sought to have the former leader laid to rest in South Africa.

Government lawyers had argued that the burial of former presidents at Embassy Park is not only a matter of national protocol but also of historical preservation, ensuring that the contributions of past leaders are honoured in a recognised state memorial. The State further contended that Mr. Lungu’s burial in Zambia would allow the nation to collectively pay its last respects.

On the other hand, family representatives — led by former First Lady Esther Lungu — opposed the move, insisting that the late president had expressed a wish to be buried privately in South Africa, where some of his children reside. They accused the government of politicising a deeply personal matter.

The court, however, found that the Zambian government had a legitimate claim over the burial arrangements of a former head of state and that such matters carry significant public interest. The judgment paves the way for the immediate repatriation of Mr. Lungu’s body to Lusaka, although it is not yet clear when the burial will take place.

Mr. Lungu, who served as Zambia’s sixth president from 2015 to 2021, died last month in Johannesburg after a period of ill health. His death has triggered both political reflection and public debate over his legacy, as well as the handling of state protocols for departed leaders.

Government sources have indicated that preparations at Embassy Park are already underway, with plans for a state funeral likely to be announced in the coming days. The decision is expected to draw mixed reactions, as political allies and opponents weigh in on the legal and moral dimensions of the case.

Changala Says UPND Was Ill-Prepared to Govern Zambia

Prominent governance activist Brebner Changala has sharply criticised the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND), arguing that the party ascended to power in 2021 without a clear governance roadmap and remains fundamentally unprepared to lead the country.

Speaking in an interview with The Mast, Changala warned that the UPND’s continued failure to adequately plan, consult, and deliver on key national issues is plunging Zambia into a crisis of leadership and credibility. He asserted that the administration, despite enjoying immense goodwill upon assuming office, squandered public trust through what he described as poor decision-making and a narrow, exclusive leadership style.

“They didn’t have a plan. They had a desire to be in State House,” said Changala. “They ran a race of mudslinging and character assassination. They painted the PF as the most corrupt government in the history of this country, and they capitalised on that perception. But what we are seeing now is a party that was never ready to govern.”

He lamented that instead of uniting the country after defeating the Patriotic Front (PF), the UPND leadership has grown increasingly elitist and detached from the grassroots. Changala accused the party of engaging in selective consultations, favouritism in appointments, and a failure to uphold the principles of transparency and accountability it once championed in opposition.

“They are not engaging the stakeholders. They don’t listen to the people. They are only listening to a very close clique within the corridors of power. And that is a dangerous path to dictatorship,” he warned.

According to Changala, one of the clearest signs of poor leadership is the government’s failure to manage expectations, especially on the economic front. He questioned the slow pace of delivering jobs to the youth, the inconsistent policy environment, and the growing disillusionment among even the most passionate UPND supporters.

“Today the people who used to sing for the UPND and President Hichilema are the ones mocking him,” he noted. “They promised too much, and delivered too little. People are now waking up to the fact that slogans and soundbites are not governance.”

Changala, a veteran human rights defender, also cautioned that Zambia’s democracy is being weakened by what he called “a disguised authoritarianism” creeping into the political space. He cited the intolerance toward dissent, the weaponisation of law enforcement agencies, and the increasing surveillance and intimidation of civil society voices as indicators of shrinking democratic space.

“The UPND said they would be different. But how different are they if they’re now targeting critics and arresting opposition leaders?” he asked.

He also denounced the government’s failure to demonstrate empathy in times of national suffering, particularly pointing to rising living costs, water contamination issues, and an economic downturn that he said is hitting ordinary Zambians the hardest.

“It is not just about policies on paper. Leadership is about compassion. This administration has become arrogant. They think because they have numbers in Parliament, they are untouchable,” he added.

Changala expressed concern over the UPND’s inability to build sustainable bridges across political divides, suggesting that the party’s governance style is rooted more in political expediency than national development.

“You cannot lead this country by alienating others. Even the PF, as discredited as they were, still represent a significant portion of this country’s voice. They too must be heard,” he stressed.

He called on President Hakainde Hichilema to recalibrate his administration’s direction and reconnect with the ordinary people who placed him in power with great hope and belief.

“Leadership is about listening, humility, and course correction. This ship is veering off. The earlier they realise it, the better for this country,” Changala concluded.

His remarks echo a growing wave of concern across civil society and among political analysts who argue that the UPND’s early promises of reform and inclusive governance have been overtaken by insularity and poor execution.