Zambian gov't tries to stop former president's funeral taking place in South Africa

The Zambian government has filed court papers seeking to stop the private burial of former President Edgar Lungu in South Africa

JOHANNESBURG -- The Zambian government filed last-minute legal papers seeking to stop the private burial of former President Edgar Lungu in South Africa on Wednesday, forcing members of Lungu's family to attend a court hearing dressed in their black funeral attire.

The hearing in the South African administrative capital, Pretoria, began around an hour before Lungu's funeral service was due to take place. It was not clear when a judge would issue a ruling and if the ex-leader could be buried.

Meanwhile, mourners arrived for the funeral service at a Johannesburg church around 60 kilometers (37 miles) away.

The court challenge was the latest development in a nearly monthlong dispute between Lungu’s family and the Zambian government over where and how the former leader is buried.

The Zambian government wants Lungu to have a state funeral at home — something Lungu's family have refused to allow because of his bitter political feud with current Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema.

Lungu, who was Zambia's leader from 2015 to 2021, died of an undisclosed illness in a South African hospital on June 5 at the age of 68.

A state funeral for him in Zambia was canceled twice because of disagreements over the details. His family and lawyers said he left specific instructions that Hichilema should not attend his funeral, while the Zambian government said Hichilema was due to preside over the state funeral.

Zambia's Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha filed papers in a South African court Tuesday seeking an urgent injunction to stop Wednesday's funeral, according to Zambia's national broadcaster ZNBC. The court papers demand that the former president be buried in Zambia with full military honors, as mandated by Zambian law and in keeping with the public interest, ZNBC reported.

Zambia's government said it had already prepared a grave for Lungu at a cemetery where all presidents are traditionally buried. It added that any personal wishes must give way to the national interest.

Lungu's family decided against repatriating his body and arranged their own funeral service and a private burial. Top members of Lungu's political party traveled to South Africa for the funeral.

Lungu and Hichilema had a long history of political enmity in the southern African country.

Lungu beat Hichilema in a 2016 presidential election, and his government imprisoned Hichilema for four months in 2017 on charges of treason because his convoy didn't give way to the president's motorcade on a road. The move to imprison Hichilema was widely criticized by the international community and Hichilema was released and the charges dropped.

Hichilema defeated Lungu in a 2021 vote. Last year, Lungu accused Hichilema's government of using the police to restrict his movements and effectively place him under house arrest. Lungu also accused the government of interfering in a court case that prevented him from running again in next year's presidential election against Hichilema.

The government denied the accusations.

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Zimba reported from Lusaka, Zambia.

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