The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) of South Africa has overturned a 2025 Gauteng High Court ruling that had granted the Zambian Government the right to repatriate and bury the late former President Edgar Chagwa Lungu in Zambia with full state honours.
In a judgment delivered on Tuesday, 23 June 2026, the SCA upheld an appeal by former First Lady Esther Lungu, members of the Lungu family, and family spokesperson Makebi Zulu, ruling that the Zambian Government had failed to establish a legal right to override the family’s wishes regarding the burial of the former Head of State.
The court set aside the earlier High Court decision and substituted it with an order dismissing the Zambian Government’s application in its entirety, while also awarding costs against the Government.
Writing for the majority, Justice R.M. Keightley held that South African constitutional principles protecting dignity, privacy and family autonomy, together with common law principles recognising the rights of next of kin in burial matters, favoured the Lungu family.
The court found that the family had the legal right to decide how and where the late President would be buried.
The judgment noted that the Zambian Government had argued that it was entitled to repatriate the former President’s remains for a state funeral and burial at Embassy Park in Lusaka. 
However, the court found that the Government failed to prove that Zambian law, customs or protocols gave it the authority to make burial decisions against the wishes of the deceased’s family.
The judges also ruled that no expert evidence had been presented to substantiate claims regarding Zambian burial protocols for former presidents.
The SCA further rejected the Government’s argument that an agreement had been reached between the two parties to repatriate the body and hold a state funeral in Zambia.
The court found that discussions and proposed funeral programmes exchanged between the family and government representatives amounted to ongoing negotiations rather than a binding agreement.
The court accepted evidence presented by the family that the late President had consistently expressed his wish that President Hakainde Hichilema and the Zambian Government should not play a role in his funeral arrangements.
The judges said these wishes were supported by evidence from family members and others close to the former President.
“The Zambian Government’s failure to establish a right under either the common law or contract to override the family’s burial decision is fatal to its case,” Justice Keightley stated in the ruling.
The court concluded that neither South African law nor the evidence presented justified interference with the family’s decision regarding the burial of the late former President.
As a result, the appeal was upheld and the Government’s application dismissed with costs.
Former President Edgar Chagwa Lungu died in South Africa on 5 June 2025 after receiving treatment for terminal oesophageal cancer.
His death triggered a protracted dispute between his family and the Zambian Government over funeral and burial arrangements.
A dissenting judgment by Justice Norman JA would have upheld the High Court ruling and recognised what he considered an agreement between the parties for the repatriation and state burial of the former President. However, the majority decision prevailed.
