Former Zambian president Edgar Lungu. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Harish Tyagi) 
The family of the late former Zambian president Edgar Lungu says plans to repatriate his body to Zambia were halted over the government’s inclusion of current president Hakainde Hichilema in the funeral programme.
In papers submitted to the High Court in Pretoria, former first lady Esther Lungu has explained why the family has refused to allow the Zambian government to repatriate Lungu’s remains to Zambia, forcing a court battle over who has the right to bury the former head of state.
Esther Lungu, who now lives in Centurion, is adamant that her late husband would not have wanted to be buried by the Zambian government if Hichilema was involved in the funeral. A draft programme released by the government showed that Hichilema would play a key role, presiding over the burial of his one-time rival.
“During the late former president Lungu’s time in South Africa, he was open and consistent in expressing his wish that, upon his death, the current president (Hakainde Hichilema) should be nowhere near his funeral or body. These intentions were communicated on numerous occasions to me and other family members. His reasons were rooted, not only in his personal mistreatment, compromised safety and medical care, but also in the principled rejection of a ceremonial burial by a government that had, in his view, forsaken and persecuted him in life,” Esther says in the affidavit.
Esther Lungu has accused the government of denying him the opportunity to seek lifesaving medical attention in the two years before his death, further souring an already tense political relationship.
Who decides?
According to the papers, the Lungu family have not found a will belonging to the former president and as a result argue that they should decide on where he should be buried.
“(Lungu’s) status as a former Head of State does not displace or override the rights of his immediate family, particularly in the absence of any legal authority, judicial order, or formal consent authorising interference with those burial arrangements,” Esther Lungu says in her affidavit.
Read more: President Lungu’s death and the perils of a divided and weakened opposition in Zambia
Lungu died in a Johannesburg hospital on 5 June and was due to be repatriated a few days later. He had travelled to South Africa for medical treatment and upon arrival was told that he had advanced cancer of the oesophagus. According to Zambia’s attorney-general, Mulilo Kabesha, who deposed an affidavit on behalf of the Zambian government, the family had initially agreed to having Lungu returned to Zambia. Kabesha says the family planned to return to Zambia via private jet and “planned to transport the body to Ndola, where the late President Lungu was born, Kitwe where he lived during his formative years and Petauke where he hailed from”.
“This was to provide the opportunity to the late President’s supporters and friends to pay their last respect before proceeding to Lusaka.”
The government offered to transport the mortal remains on a military jet and foot the bill for the burial, but the family objected, saying Lungu wanted to be repatriated “in the same manner that he travelled to South Africa, namely by charter plane”.
Kabesha also confirmed that the government officials were informed that Lungu did not want Hichilema to attend the funeral. Kabesha says the family and government officials continued to negotiate for another week and during a meeting on 14 June a “roadmap was agreed upon” that would see Lungu returned to Zambia via charter jet and buried on 23 June at Embassy Memorial Park. This roadmap was communicated to Zambian media. Kabesha says the family “reneged” on the agreement a few days later.
“(Esther Lungu’s) catastrophic about-turn led to a flurry of diplomatic activities from 18 June to 23 June 2025 and (the Zambian government) sent numerous delegations to (Mrs Lungu) to implore her and the other family members to revert to the initial arrangements and to permit the late President’s body to be repatriated and thereafter for the Zambian established customs and protocols to be followed,” Kabesha said.
He added that Mrs Lungu raised several issues including “general mistrust of the present regime and an objection to the current sitting head of state being allowed to receive the body”.
“Even though discussions between officials of the government of Zambia were ongoing, (the government) was notified through social media at 12:15 on 23 June 2025 of that (Mrs Lungu) and other family members have resolved to bury the late president Lungu in Johannesburg on 25 June in a private ceremony.”
In court papers, the Lungu family admit that they met representatives from the government but deny Kabesha’s version of the outcome.
Read more: Copper-rich Zambia is a breath of fresh air for foreign investors
“It was proposed that the current President only be allowed to receive foreign dignitaries and could be present at the funeral where foreign heads of state would be present. The current President was not to play any further role in the burial,” Esther Lungu says.
The South African burial was interdicted by the government and Lungu’s remains are being kept at the Two Mountains funeral home in Midrand.
Benefits
Kabesha argues that the Zambian government has a clear right to dictate the terms of burial of a head of state, based on the country’s Benefits Act, which specifies the benefits allocated to former heads of state including pension and state burial. However, the Lungu family challenges this, saying the current administration had terminated Lungu’s benefits in October 2023, after Lungu announced plans to return to active politics.
According to the family, Lungu’s benefits had been “revoked prior to his passing, rendering him a private citizen at the time of his death”.
“During the period his benefits were revoked, he was compelled to seek financial support from family and friends and was forced to leave Zambia to receive medical treatment in South Africa, fearing politically motivated medical negligence in his home country,” Esther Lungu says in the affidavit.
She adds that the removal of the benefits was “a deliberate act” by the government aimed at “weakening” Lungu.
The government has another view, saying Lungu’s benefits were not terminated but suspended. “His entitlement to benefits was suspended when he became engaged in active politics and upon his passing on, the impediment that existed fell away,” Kabesha said.
Feud
Lungu served as president of Zambia from January 2015 to August 2021 under the banner of the Patriotic Front. He was succeeded by Hichilema, the rival leader of the United Party for National Development, who remains president today. During Lungu’s term Hichilema was arrested on treason charges but was released after 100 days in custody. Since leaving office, Lungu and his family have been accused of corruption and theft of government motor vehicles and property. Esther Lungu alleges these accusations are politically motivated. Kabesha, on behalf of the Zambian government, says the cases against Lungu’s family should not have a bearing on the case involving his burial.
The Lungu family say they plan to remain in South Africa due to the conditions they have faced in Zambia. They also allege that they incurred up to R1-million in costs for the aborted burial and funeral which was interdicted by the government. Esther Lungu says the halting of the funeral “caused great harm and embarrassment to the family”.
Arguments in the case are set down for 4 August. DM