WeeklySA_AdminJUSTICE: More than a year after former Zambian President Edgar Lungu’s death, South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal has upheld his family’s right to honour his final wish, affirming that personal dignity and family autonomy must prevail over political interests…
By Monk Nkomo
There is a profound irony in the fact that former Zambian President Edgar Chagwa Lungu has achieved perhaps his most significant victory after his death.
This week, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein brought an end to one of the most painful and protracted legal disputes in recent Southern African history when it overturned a ruling of the Full Bench of the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria that had ordered the repatriation of Lungu’s remains to Zambia for a State funeral and burial.
The judgment finally clears the way for the former President to be buried in South Africa, in accordance with his stated wishes and those of his family.
For more than a year since his death in a South African hospital on June 5, 2025, Lungu’s remains remained unburied as his family and the Zambian government fought a bitter legal battle over where he should be laid to rest. What should have been a period of mourning, reflection and national healing instead became a painful public spectacle that divided the nation and prolonged the suffering of his widow, children and relatives.
The SCA’s ruling is therefore far more than a legal judgment. It is a victory for personal dignity, family autonomy and the principle that a person’s final wishes should not be casually overridden by the State, regardless of how prominent that individual may have been in life.
The dispute was never simply about geography. At its heart lay the deeply troubled relationship between Lungu and his successor, President Hakainde Hichilema. According to members of the late President’s family, Lungu had made it clear before his death that he did not want Hichilema involved in his funeral arrangements because of long-standing political differences between the two men.
The Zambian government, however, took a different view. It argued that a former Head of State belongs not only to his family but also to the nation and therefore deserved a State funeral and burial in Zambia. On August 8, 2025, the Full Bench of the Gauteng High Court agreed with that position, ruling that there was a binding agreement between the government and the family for the repatriation of the remains and a State burial. The court further emphasised that public policy and the national interest in honouring a former President outweighed the private wishes of the deceased and his family.
The Lungu family refused to accept that outcome and successfully obtained an interdict while pursuing an appeal.
This week, the SCA reached a different conclusion.
In a majority judgment, the appellate court accepted the family’s argument that no final and binding agreement had been concluded regarding the repatriation of the remains and a State funeral. More importantly, the court recognised the significance of the constitutional rights to dignity, privacy and family autonomy in resolving such deeply personal matters.
In doing so, the SCA restored a measure of humanity to a dispute that had become consumed by legal technicalities and political considerations.
The court’s decision sends an important message that even those who have occupied the highest office in the land do not surrender their individual rights upon becoming national figures. A presidency does not erase personhood. Public office does not extinguish private wishes.
Indeed, one of the hallmarks of a mature democracy is the ability to distinguish between the State and the individual. While nations have every right to honour their former leaders, such recognition should not come at the expense of the dignity and clearly expressed wishes of the deceased.
Lungu’s case raises a fundamental question: who ultimately owns a person’s memory after death?
Is it the State that seeks to preserve national history? Or is it the family that knew the individual behind the public image?
The SCA’s ruling suggests that the answer cannot be found solely in the symbolism of State power. It must also take into account the rights, wishes and dignity of the deceased and those closest to them.
The tragedy is that this principle had to be tested through more than a year of litigation.
Throughout that period, a grieving family found itself locked in court battles while the remains of a former President lay in limbo. Political passions overshadowed compassion. Legal arguments replaced reconciliation. Instead of closure, there was uncertainty. Instead of healing, there was conflict.
No matter where one stands politically, such an outcome should trouble every citizen.
Death ought to be the moment when divisions are set aside and common humanity takes precedence over political rivalry. It should be a time when respect is shown not only to the deceased but also to those left behind.
Fortunately, the latest judgment appears to offer an opportunity for that chapter to close.
The Zambian government has indicated that it will not pursue the matter any further. That decision deserves commendation. Continuing the legal battle would have deepened national divisions and prolonged an already painful process. By accepting the judgment, the authorities have opened the door for Lungu to finally be laid to rest after more than a year of uncertainty.
History will continue to debate Edgar Lungu’s presidency. His supporters and critics will no doubt maintain sharply different views about his political legacy.
But the issue before the courts was never about assessing his years in office. It was about whether his final wishes mattered.
The Supreme Court of Appeal has now answered that question with clarity.
In life, Edgar Lungu experienced the triumphs and setbacks that accompany political leadership. In death, he became the centre of a legal and political struggle that few could have imagined.
Yet, in the end, the man’s voice prevailed over the machinery of the State.
It is a victory that arrived too late for him to witness, but one that affirms a principle larger than any political office: that dignity does not end with death and that even a former President has the right to choose his final resting place.
After more than a year in limbo, Edgar Lungu has finally prevailed from the grave.
