It would be undignified for court to force Edgar Lungu's family to allow Zambia's Hichilema to preside over his funeral - lawyers
Lungu’s family and the Zambian government battled it out on Monday in the Pretoria High Court over where the former president should be laid to rest.
FILE: Former Zambian President Edgar Chagwa Lungu speaks at the General Debate of the 73rd session of the General Assembly at the United Nations on 25 September 2018 in New York. Picture: Bryan R. Smith/AFP
JOHANNESBURG - Lawyers for the family of Zambia’s former head of state, Edgar Lungu, have argued that it would be undignified for the courts to force the family to allow the country’s president to preside over his funeral.
Lungu’s family and the Zambian government battled it out on Monday in the Pretoria High Court over where the former president should be laid to rest.
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The former president died in June while receiving medical attention in South Africa.
However, his family want him to be buried in South Africa in order to avoid the country’s President Hakainde Hichilema being involved in proceedings.
Lungu’s family said it does not want Hichilema to be involved in the former president’s funeral because of how he was treated by his government.
In 2023, Lungu was stripped on his presidential perks and retirement benefits when he returned to active politics.
His family now wants the Pretoria High Court to rule that he be laid to rest in South Africa. However, the government’s lawyers have argued that an agreement was reached by the family and the state that stated that Lungu’s remains would be repatriated and allowed President Hichilema to be present at the funeral and welcome dignitaries.
The court will now have to determine whether Lungu will be buried in South Africa or if a repratiation and state funeral in Zambia will have to be prepared.