Sean Tembo Condemns Johannesburg Court Ruling on Edgar  Lungu Repatriation Case

Tembo Condemns Johannesburg Court Ruling on ECL Repatriation Case

Patriots for Economic Progress (PeP) President and TONSE Alliance Spokesperson Sean Tembo has expressed shock and disappointment at the Johannesburg High Court’s refusal to grant the family of the late former Zambian President Edgar Chagwa Lungu leave to appeal its earlier judgment.

In a strongly worded statement issued on Tuesday, Mr. Tembo said the decision of the South African High Court, Gauteng Division, to dismiss the appeal with costs raised serious questions about justice and impartiality.

“For the High Court to deny the Lungu Family the opportunity to get a second opinion from a superior court smacked me as a total compromise by the Court, in favor of the Zambian Government,” Tembo said. “This is not a mere misdirection of the Court. This is a deliberate effort by the Court to deny the Lungu Family justice in this matter.”

Tembo cited a 2013 survey by the Johannesburg Society of Advocates which revealed that 57 percent of High Court judgments in the Gauteng Division were overturned on appeal. He argued that this statistic justified the need for the Lungu family to seek a second opinion from a higher court.

“Given such statistics, why would the High Court deny the Lungu Family the opportunity for a superior court to review the law and the facts and make a determination?” he asked.

The opposition leader also questioned why a case that had drawn wide public attention across southern Africa should end at the High Court level.

“For such a prominent matter, why should the High Court, the most junior of the three superior courts, feel that they should be the ones to have a final say?” Tembo queried.

He maintained that true justice in the matter could only be achieved if the Lungu family were allowed to determine how and where to bury the late former President.

“Without that, I am quite sure that the spirit of Mr. Lungu will haunt those of us whom he expected to safeguard his interests, if a time ever came when he was unable to safeguard his own,” he warned.

Tembo further announced a financial contribution to support the Lungu family’s legal battle.

“I am making a humble cash donation of K10,000.00 to the Lungu Family to go towards meeting the costs of pursuing justice in this matter. We may have lost ECL in flesh, but those of us who loved and cherished him shall never allow his legacy to be desecrated by those who abhorred him,” he said.

He concluded by reiterating his full support for any move by the Lungu family to appeal the refusal, insisting that protecting the legacy of the late President was a duty owed by all who held him in high regard.

©️ KUMWESU | September 16, 2025