South African court allows burial of Zambian president

A South African appellate court has ruled in favor of the family of former Zambian President Edgar Lungu, allowing them to bury him in South Africa and ending a protracted legal dispute with the Zambian government over his final resting place. The Supreme Court of Appeal delivered its judgment electronically on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, overturning a lower court order that had authorized the repatriation of Lungu's remains to Zambia for a state funeral.

Lungu, who served as Zambia's president from 2015 to 2021, died in Johannesburg on June 5, 2025, at the age of 68 while undergoing medical treatment. His death sparked an immediate conflict between his family, led by his wife Esther Lungu, and the Zambian government. The government argued that national protocol required a state funeral with full military honors at Embassy Park in Lusaka, the official burial site for Zambian leaders.

The family, however, contended that Lungu had expressly wished for a private burial in South Africa, specifically at Fourways Memorial Park in Johannesburg, and that his political successor, current President Hakainde Hichilema, should have no role in the funeral arrangements. This reflected a...