Court order stops a former Zambian president's burial in South Africa on the day of his funeral

JOHANNESBURG — The Zambian government succeeded in getting a court order to stop the private burial of former President Edgar Lungu in South Africa on Wednesday after it filed a last-minute case that was heard on the day of the funeral.

The case forced members of Lungu's family to delay their appearance at a burial service and instead attend a courtroom hearing in the South African capital dressed in black funeral attire.

The Pretoria High Court ruled that both parties had agreed after consultations that Lungu would not be buried until the case over where his funeral would be held was decided. The judge set an Aug. 4 date for another hearing.

The legal challenge by the Zambian government against Lungu's burial in South Africa was the latest development in a nearly monthlong dispute with Lungu's family over the details of his funeral and final resting place.

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 the South African court Tuesday seeking an urgent injunction to stop Wednesday's funeral, according to Zambia's national broadcaster ZNBC. The court papers demanded 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 had 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.

The hearing in Pretoria began around an hour before Lungu's funeral service was due to begin. Mourners arrived for the service at a Johannesburg church around 60 kilometers (37 miles) away while the case was being heard.

A memorial service later went ahead but the court order prevented the family from burying the former president before a final ruling.

Kabesha told ZNBC after the court hearing that the government hoped an agreement to repatriate Lungu's body could be struck this week. ''He's not a refugee,'' he said.

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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