Supreme Court of Appeal to Deliver Judgment in Edgar Lungu Burial Dispute
By Fredrick Banda
The Supreme Court of Appeal is tomorrow, 23 June 2026, expected to deliver its long-awaited judgment in the matter concerning the burial of former President Edgar Chagwa Lungu.
The case arises from a dispute between the Government of Zambia and the family of the late former Head of State over the final arrangements for his burial.
Mr. Lungu passed away on 5 June 2025 in South Africa. Following his death, disagreements emerged regarding whether he should be accorded a State funeral and be buried in Zambia with full Government participation, or whether his family should be allowed to conduct a private funeral in accordance with his alleged wishes.
The Government argued that as Zambia’s Sixth Republican President, Mr. Lungu was entitled to a State funeral and that it was in the national interest for his remains to be repatriated to Zambia. The State further maintained that former presidents occupy a unique constitutional and historical position, making official national honours appropriate.
On the other hand, the Lungu family contended that the former President had expressed a desire for a private burial without Government involvement. The family argued that his personal wishes and the family’s right to make burial arrangements should be respected.
The lower court ruled in favour of the Government and ordered that Mr. Lungu’s remains be repatriated to Zambia for a State funeral. Dissatisfied with that decision, the family appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal.
The nation now awaits the court’s verdict, which will determine whether the lower court’s decision will be upheld, resulting in the repatriation of Mr. Lungu’s body for a State funeral in Zambia, or whether it will be set aside, allowing the family to proceed with a private funeral without Government involvement.
The judgment is expected to bring legal clarity to one of the most closely watched cases in Zambia’s recent history.