A high court in South Africa dismissed an appeal on Tuesday by the family of late Zambian President Edgar Lungu that sought to stop the repatriation of his remains to Zambia for burial.
The family approached the court in Pretoria to appeal an earlier judgment which granted the Zambian government the right to repatriate Lungu’s remains to Zambia for a state funeral.
The family was hoping to petition the matter to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) but their bid was dismissed with costs.
The court said there were no reasonable prospects of success for an appeal.
National interest
Lungu, 68, died June 5, while receiving specialised treatment in South Africa, where his body has remained.
The family urged that the Pretoria High Court had erred by applying Zambian law to the dispute between them and the government, instead of relying on South African law.
“As for the application of Zambian law, the Court considered that the deceased was on a temporary visit to the Republic (South Africa) for medical reasons. The main parties to the dispute are peregrine (foreigners),” the court said.
In August, the court said that “under Zambian law and as a matter of public policy, a former president’s personal wishes or the wishes of his family cannot outweigh the right of the state to honour that individual with a state funeral and burial at the official site designated for national leaders.”
Further appeals?
The family wanted Lungu to be buried in Johannesburg, citing political tensions with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema. They also claimed that Lungu had expressed a wish that Hichilema not attend his funeral.
Last month, the Constitutional Court dismissed an application by the family to directly appeal to the top court, challenging the Pretoria High Court’s decision without showing sufficient grounds for extraordinary direct access.
Legal experts said if the family does not appeal the case further, the Zambian government could begin the repatriation process.
