Legal battle between Lungu's family and Zambian govt returns to court

The legal tussle between the family of former Zambian President Edgar Lungu and the Zambian government will return to the Pretoria High Court on Thursday for a battle over his remains.

It has been more than 10 months since Lungu died in South Africa, where he was receiving medical attention.

This is despite the Pretoria High Court’s order in August 2025 that Lungu’s remains should be repatriated to Zambia for a state funeral.

When Judge Aubrey Ledwaba handed down a judgement in August last year that former Lungu’s remains should be buried in his home country, the Lungu family approached the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) against the decision.

But according to the Zambian government, they missed their deadline to file papers in SCA, adding that their appeal had lapsed.

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This prompted the Zambian government to collect Lungu’s remains from the family’s mortuary to begin the repatriation process.

But last week, the Lungu family approached the Pretoria High Court on an urgent basis.

This resulted in an order in their favour, suggesting that Lungu’s remains must be returned to the family’s mortuary.

The Zambian government wants the court to reconsider this order, saying they were not informed of the urgent application and could not oppose it.

They also insist Lungu’s family and its lawyers acted in bad faith.