Latest news with #LunguFamily
Russia Today
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Court blocks burial of former Zambian president over state-family feud
A South African court has blocked the burial of former President of Zambia Edgar Lungu at a private ceremony just as it was about to begin. The ruling on Wednesday came amid a dispute between the ex-leader's family and the Zambian government over his funeral arrangements. Mourners gathered at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Johannesburg, South Africa, were reportedly informed of the court's decision only after the funeral mass had concluded. The Zambian government had initially planned a state funeral presided over by President Hichilema, while Lungu's family had opted for a private burial in South Africa. The two sides later reached an agreement for a state funeral, but relations broke down over the specific arrangements. Last week, President Hichilema announced that the 'people of Zambia were prepared to receive the remains' of his predecessor on June 18, but were 'surprised by the family's reversal of the agreed course of action.' 'While we recognize that he belongs to a family, he also belongs to the nation of Zambia,' Hichilema said, arguing that it is 'correct' for the '6th Republican President to be buried in Zambia with full honors.' Zambian Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha filed an urgent case in the High Court in South Africa's capital, Pretoria, on Tuesday to halt the burial planned by the late president's family. Kabesha told the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation that state funerals with full military honours were required by law, referencing a previous court ruling on the burial of Zambia's first president, Kenneth Kaunda. In its ruling, the Pretoria court ordered a full hearing to be held on August 4. Lungu had been a longtime political rival of Hichilema. Hichilema defeated him in the 2021 election after losing in 2016. In 2017, Hichilema was jailed for four months on treason charges after his convoy allegedly failed to give way to Lungu's motorcade, but the case was later dropped. When Hichilema took power, Lungu accused his successor of targeting him and placing him under house arrest. Last year, Zambian authorities arrested two men in connection with an alleged plot by a Lungu ally to bewitch Hichilema.
BBC News
25-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Wetin be di kasala wey dey happun wit di burial of former Zambia president, why di burial dey drag?
One South Africa court don pause di plans to bury former Zambian President Edgar Lungu for one private ceremony just as e dey about to start. Dem announce di news to mourners for South Africa afta dem finish one funeral mass. Dis na di latest twist inside one gbas-gbos between di goment and di Lungu family ova im burial. Di family bin decide to do private ceremony for South Africa, instead of full state funeral for dia kontri. Di Zambian goment bin file one urgent case for di Pretoria High Court to stop di burial wey im family dey plan. Di court tok say di funeral no go kontinu afta one "agreement between di parties" as e be now, e be like say no funeral go happun until August at di earliest. Di kasala dey come sake of one long-standing quarrel between Lungu and im successor, President Hakainde Hichilema, Lungu family tok say di late president indicate say make Hichilema no attend im funeral. Afta Lungu death for South Africa at di age of 68, di family wan dey in charge of di funeral arrangements, wey include bringing back im body, but di Zambian authorities wan control evritin. Afta plenty back and forth, di goment and di family later agree say e go get state funeral, bifor disagreement enta ova di exact arrangements, all dis wahala make di family decide to bury di late president for South Africa. President Hichilema dey argue say Oga Lungu, as a former president, "belong to di nation of Zambia" and dem suppose burial am for di kontri. For one address, President Hichilema tok say Lungu, as a former president, "belong to di nation of Zambia" and im body therefore suppose "dey buried in Zambia wit full honours, and no be for any oda nation". However, because of di row, e announce immediate end to di mourning period, e say di kontri need to "resume normal life". "Di goment don do evritin possible to engage wit di family of our departed sixth president," e tok. Di national mourning period initially run from 8 to 14 June but dem later extend am until 23 June, wit flags flying at half-mast and radio stations playing solemn music. President Hichilema and senior officials bin ready to receive Lungu coffin wit full military honours. However, Lungu family block di repatriation of im remains for di last minute, dem say goment go back on dia agreement ova di funeral plans. Di current disagreement ova Lungu burial highlight di tense relationship between im and im successor, wey play out in life and continue even in death. Wen Lungu be president, e lock Hichilema up for more dan 100 days on treason charges afta Hichilema motorcade allegedly refuse to make way for am. E bin take di intervention of di Commonwealth bifor e release Hichilema. Four years later, and afta five attempts at presidency, Hichilema defeat Lungu. Di Pretoria court give Zambian attorney general Mulilo D Kabesha until 4 July to submit im "amended notice of motion" in support of Lungu repatriation to Zambia. Im family get until 11 July to file dia opposing papers. "Dem go hear dis mata as special motion on di 4th of August 2025," di court tok. Dem go determine di costs of di urgent application then. Di Zambian goment argue say personal wishes no suppose override di greater public interest, as dem cite di case of founding President Kenneth Kaunda. For 2021, Kaunda family bin tok say im want make dem bury am next to im wife and no be di site wey goment allocate. However, di goment bin go ahead and dem bury Kaunda for Embassy Memorial Park for Lusaka. "Di High Court rule say national interest take precedence ova individual or family preferences bicos designated burial place dey for former presidents, and laid down set of protocol dey ground to handle those proceedings wey di state dey carry out, no be political party," Oga Mweetwa tok. Dis argument - about di state rights to dead president body - don play out many times across Africa. For 2019, Robert Mugabe die nearly two years afta im former right-hand man, Emmerson Mnangagwa unseat am as Zimbabwe president. Mugabe family no gree make dem bury am for di national Heroes' Acre,dem argue say im former colleagues betray am.
Reuters
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
South African court halts burial of Zambia's ex-president Lungu
JOHANNESBURG, June 25 (Reuters) - A South African court prevented Zambia's former president Edgar Lungu from being buried in Johannesburg just before the ceremony was due to be held on Wednesday, following weeks of feuding between his family and the Zambian government. Lungu, who was Zambia's head of state from 2015 to 2021, died in South Africa on June 5 while receiving medical treatment. He and his successor, current President Hakainde Hichilema, were longstanding political rivals, and Lungu's family said he did not want Hichilema to be present at his funeral. Hichilema's government, however, wants Lungu's body brought back to Zambia for a state funeral and approached Pretoria High Court to try to block his burial. Deputy Judge President Aubrey Phago Ledwaba told the court on Wednesday that lawyers for Lungu's family and Zambia's government had agreed that the burial would not go ahead for now. The Zambian government has until July 4 to explain why it wants to repatriate Lungu's body. Zambian Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha said negotiations with Lungu's family would continue before the next court hearing. Makebi Zulu, a Lungu family spokesman, said they did not believe Hichilema would give Lungu a dignified send-off. Lungu had hoped to make a bid to return to office in next year's presidential election, but Zambia's Constitutional Court last year ruled he would be ineligible, because he had already served two terms. South Africa's government has said it has an obligation to respect the wishes of Lungu's family, but it feels a state burial in Zambia would be the most fitting outcome. All of Zambia's other presidents since its independence from Britain in 1964 have been buried at a designated site in the capital, Lusaka. Analysts say Lungu's legacy as Zambian president was chequered. He was praised for a massive road-building programme but also ran the country's public finances deeply into the red. Instead of the Johannesburg burial his family had scheduled for Wednesday, a prayer service was held at a Catholic cathedral.
The Independent
25-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Last-minute court order halts former president's burial in South Africa
The private burial of former President Edgar Lungu in South Africa was halted on Wednesday after the Zambian government succeeded in getting a last-minute court order on the day of the funeral to stop proceedings. Members of Lungu's family were forced to delay their appearance at a burial service and instead attend a courtroom hearing in the South African capital dressed in black funeral attire to hear the case. 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 August 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 month-long dispute with Lungu's family over the details of his funeral and final resting place. 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. 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. A state funeral for him in Zambia was cancelled 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 on 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 honours, 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 travelled 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 kilometres (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 criticised 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.
The Independent
25-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Court order stops a former Zambian president's burial in South Africa on the day of his funeral
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. ___ Zimba reported from Lusaka, Zambia. ___
