Court to deliver judgment in Edgar Lungu's final resting place
A legal battle played out in the court this week, with the family arguing to be allowed to bury Lungu in South Africa.
FILE: Zambia's former president Edgar Lungu. Photo: AFP
JOHANNESBURG - The family of Zambia's former president Edgar Lungu will find out on Friday where they will lay him to rest, as the Pretoria High Court is set to hand down judgment in the case between the country's government and the family.
A legal battle played out in the court this week, with the family arguing to be allowed to bury Lungu in South Africa.
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The former Zambian head of state died in June in the country where he was receiving medical attention.
The Zambian government and the family entered talks for his remains to be repatriated but that fell through.
Lawyers for the Zambian government argued this week that Lungu's family had agreed with the state to repatriate his remains to Lusaka and prepare a burial that the current president, who was his political rival, would play a minimal role in.
But the family now said it would be undignified for the courts to force the family to allow the country’s president to preside over Lungu’s funeral, considering how he treated him.
In 2023, Lungu was stripped of his presidential perks and retirement benefits, as the Zambian constitution dictates when a former statesman returns to active politics.
While the Zambian government insists the Lungu family’s wishes cannot trump the public interest because of his status as a former president, the Lungu family insists he was rendered an ordinary citizen when he lost his presidential perks.