WHY THE SA COURT BATTLE WAS LOST
By Sean E. Tembo – PeP President & TONSE ALLIANCE Spokesperson
1. When Govt sued the ECL family and obtained an Interim Injunction to stop the burial that was scheduled for 26th June 2025, l took time to study the arguments that Govt was advancing, as well as the counter arguments that ECL’s family was advancing.
2. It soon became apparent to me that ECL’s family clearly had an upper hand, for the simple reason that South African law gave the next of kin the right to determine where and how a dead person should be interred. In this particular case, the wish of ECL’s family was to bury in South Africa. That is all that mattered.
3. However, among all the frivolous arguments that Govt advanced in court, there was one, which if they could prove, might have the potential to supersede South Africa’s that gives the next of kin the right to determine how and where a dead person should be interred. That argument was public interest.
4. However, it is very difficult to definitively prove public interest in court, without your argument being successfully rebutted. You literally have to undertake a statistically sound survey where it is determined that the majority of Zambians want ECL to be buried in Zambia, and that it is therefore in the public interest that he must be buried in Zambia.
5. Of course Govt tried to demonstrate public interest by, according to a recorded conversation between two Honorables, engaging proxies to undertake protests in front of the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria. But these efforts fell far short of the requisite solid argument for public interest, that would sway the court to determine in favor of Govt.
6. Until the matter came up for a hearing on 4th August 2025. Both parties made their submissions and it appeared like ECL’s family might carry the day, until the Judge asked the ECL family lawyer, a rather rhetorical question.The judge said; do you think it is in the public interest that ECL should be buried in Zambia?
7. The ECL family lawyer answered in the affirmative, but quickly qualified his answer by saying “… it is however the desire of the family that he should be buried here in South Africa..”. At that moment, l sunk in my seat with helplessness. The moment the lawyer agreed that it was in the public interest that ECL should be buried in Zambia, l knew that we had lost the case. It did not matter the qualification that he made thereafter by saying it is however the desire of ECL’s family that he should be buried in South Africa. Because on any day of the week, public interest takes precedence over family interest.
8. Suffice to mention that Govt had been struggling and failing to prove public interest, until the family lawyer gave it to them on a silver platter, through an admission. Infact the judge even quiped that “.. you seem to be agreeing with the submissions of the Applicant..”. The question that shall remain lingering on the back of my mind is whether that was due to plain incompetence or he was compromised?
Anyway, TILI TONSE 欄 and the Future is SET ✌️
SET 08.08.2025
Its not an issue of “who wins and who loses” ba Sean Tembo.It is about giving a dignified funeral to a former head of state who once presided over the affairs of the nation.Its about respect and protocol.For you to say somthing like that exposes you as a very dull character.Reason enough not to win an election.Your thinking is so disappointing
Very right. These are the people who mislead and stir the pot to cause division. And then sit on the side while people are fighting and losing their lives. No plan to show that they are a party of issues. Instead they are an Opposition of innuendos
Sean Tembo, if you subject a Zebra to the court of lions in a case related to the Zebra’s way of life, would it be correct for the lions to apply their laws (Laws of the Lions way of Life) over a Zebra’s way of life or should they refer to the Zebra’s laws?. I think fairness demands that the applicable laws should be those of the Zebra Laws, hence the courts applied the Zambian laws on this issue.
What a rubbish analysis. PUBLIC interest is not about carrying a survey. As an elected PUBLIC figure at the highest level of a PUBLIC office, that alone is what warrants PUBLIC interest. Whether that person is usless to the majority or wants to lay low that doesn’t take away the notion of PUBLIC interest.
Iwe SET, when an individual is retired in public interest, is there any survey conducted? @Kaponya, I can’t agree with you more
The only problem is that thugs could not differentiate between a former head of state and a common citizen,all you knew was S.A law considers a family as a next of to the deceased.But be reminded ECL was not a common citizen and was not the first former head of state to prosecuted in the world.
Lubinda where are you and the non sense you were spreading in South Africa? Where is your delegation you were booking Hotel rooms in expensive hotels and booking BMWs to pose in while your ordinary PF members were being misled and lies were being told.
You were insulting SET; you and Nakachinda. Are you not embarassed with you arrogant utterances? Now you speak and behave like the “anchor party”. If so how come you are losing elections? That is a sign that people dont see democracy in you.
Double tragedy! Mfuwe seat is taken away from PF and the judgement in favour of the Government. Lubinda, you have lost considerable number of kilos and your hair may soon turn into something else since it is already grey. The insults of that woman so called sister of Lungu in court was appalling. She was brought up badly, shame.
You are the same people who were busy misleading the ECL family. we know that you are shameless, that’s why you have come up with such innuendos about the public interest and you still want to continue misleading the public, shame on you. Those that get retired in public interest, have you ever seen the organization conducting a research to a assess the public interests?
It’s PUBLIC INTEREST, INTERNATIONAL INTEREST, REGIONAL COMMUNITY INTEREST and GLOBAL VILLAGE INTEREST, and not PRIVATE iNTEREST
Just yesterday, you said immediately after the judgement, ECL should be put to rest on Saturday or Sunday.
So you are now saying you did not see that you were losing the case? Or it’s your usual drama? Votes, drama, “mourning”, drama!
Everything for you, it’s drama. No wonder no person will ever take you serious