JOHANNESBURG – The Constitutional Court of South Africa has dismissed an application by the family of former Zambian President Edgar Lungu, dealing a major blow to efforts to overturn a ruling ordering the repatriation of his remains for burial in Zambia.
In a ruling delivered on Tuesday, the apex court said the applicants had failed to justify why the case should leapfrog lower courts.
“Leave to appeal directly to this Court is refused,” read part of the judgement.
The decision leaves intact a Pretoria High Court order directing that Lungu’s body be returned to Zambia for burial, unless overturned through the ordinary appeal process. The matter must now revert to the High Court, where proceedings had been adjourned sine die.
The Lungu family had argued for urgency, claiming that the sensitive nature of the dispute warranted direct intervention by the Constitutional Court. However, the judges held that no exceptional circumstances had been demonstrated.
The ruling prolongs a bitter legal battle that has spilled across borders since the death of Zambia’s former leader on June 5. Lungu, who served as president from 2015 until his defeat to Hakainde Hichilema in 2021, died in Pretoria where he was receiving treatment.
His family wants him buried in Johannesburg, they say to stop his bitter rival Hichilema from presiding over his funeral, while the Zambian government has demanded that he be repatriated for burial at the official presidential burial site in Lusaka.
The Pretoria High Court previously sided with the Zambian state, ruling that as a former head of state, Lungu’s remains were of national significance and should be interred in his home country. That decision was challenged by the family, setting off a series of appeals culminating in the latest Constitutional Court setback.
Legal experts say the family can still pursue the normal appeal process through the Supreme Court of Appeal, but the path is likely to be long and complex.
The dispute has ignited political tensions in Zambia, with Lungu’s Patriotic Front party accusing the government of disrespecting his family’s wishes, while authorities in Lusaka insist that the burial is a matter of state protocol and national dignity.
For now, the former president’s remains remain in legal limbo, as the Pretoria High Court awaits the next move by the family’s lawyers.
Meanwhile, a South African funeral parlour holding Lungu’s body has warned that extended storage could soon lead to deterioration, piling pressure on both the Zambian government and the late leader’s family to resolve the bitter standoff.
In a letter to both parties, Two Mountains Burial Services cautioned that even though Lungu’s body had been embalmed, prolonged storage carried risks.
The parlour revealed it was considering consulting a pathologist or embalmer for expert guidance on the effects of prolonged storage, but asked that the government and family confirm whether they would shoulder any related costs.
The firm, however, assured that Lungu’s body currently remains well preserved, with no visible signs of decay, thanks to standard embalming procedures.
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