Pretoria Court Orders Return of Lungu's Remains to Mortuary

The family of former Zambian President Edgar Lungu has secured a Pretoria High Court order compelling Zambian authorities and South African police to return his remains to a private mortuary, following their removal without permission earlier this week. The ruling, issued on Thursday by Judge Rochelle Francis-Subbiah, addresses an urgent application filed by Lungu's widow, Esther Lungu, after the body was taken from Two Mountains Funeral Services on April 22.

Lungu, who served as Zambia's sixth president from 2015 to 2021, died on June 5, 2025, at Mediclinic Medforum Hospital in Pretoria at the age of 68. His death followed cardiac complications during surgery. Since then, his family and the Zambian government, led by President Hakainde Hichilema, have clashed over burial arrangements. The family has insisted on a private ceremony in South Africa, in line with what they describe as Lungu's wishes, while the government has pushed for repatriation to Zambia for a state funeral at Embassy Park, a national monument in Lusaka designated as the resting place for former presidents.

The dispute escalated when Zambian officials announced on Thursday that they had taken possession of the...