Sema Fonkem 23 April 2026

The Zambian government has carried out the Pretoria High Court’s August 2025 judgment to repatriate former President Edgar Lungu’s body for a formal burial.

Dr. Lungu, the sixth Republican president of Zambia died on June 05, 2025, from chest related complications while being treated at Mediclinic Medforum in Pretoria.

When Dr. Lungu died, Zambian government representatives who had decided to give him a state burial met with his family to discuss the repatriation of his remains to Zambia. Following deliberations, it was agreed that his body will be transported from South Africa to Zambia on June 18, 2025, for a state burial at Embassy Park.

On the 18th of June 2025, when Dr. Lungu’s repatriation was scheduled, his family, led by his wife, Esther Lungu, decided that it was in his family’s best interests for him to be buried privately in South Africa.

The family members filed a complaint in the Pretoria High Court to prohibit Dr. Lungu’s repatriation to Zambia, claiming that it was the former president’s last request not to be buried in Zambia, where he had a long-standing feud with the country’s current president, Hakainde Hichilema.

The court ruled in favour of the government, stating that the family’s request and lack of adequate proof cannot override Zambia’s constitution, which requires that the president be given a state funeral in the interest of the public.

Lungu’s family proceeded to file an appeal with South Africa’s Supreme Court, requesting that he be buried privately. However, their failure to follow court-imposed deadlines for filings and a reasonable argument has given the Zambian government an advantage in the case.

Government of Zambia has taken possession of Dr. Lungu’s body and preparations for repatriation are underway.