LUSAKA–(MaraviPost)-The Government of the Republic of Zambia has accepted the judgment delivered on 23rd June 2026 by the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa regarding the burial of the late Sixth Republican President, His Excellency Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu, and said it will not pursue the matter any further.
Although the Zambian government disagrees with the court’s decision, officials confirmed that Zambia will not exercise its right to appeal to the Constitutional Court of South Africa.
Following the judgment, the Ministry of Justice stated that the burial arrangements have now become a private matter for the Lungu family to proceed with as they wish in the Republic of South Africa.
The ministry explained that for the past 12 months, its objective had been to honour the Sixth President in accordance with the precedent set for previous heads of state.
It noted that a clear set of national customs and culture surrounding presidential funerals has been established in Zambia over time, and that this conviction was held and acted upon in utmost good faith throughout the dispute.
In its statement, the government recalled the historical facts that have shaped that practice, beginning with the death of the first Zambian president to pass away in office.
President Levy Mwanawasa, who died in 2008, had indicated in his Will and Testament a desire to be buried at his farm in Palabana.
The then Government, however, resolved that it was right for him to be laid to rest at Embassy Park, thereby enabling the Zambian people to honour him at the time and in the future at the most suitable and accessible resting place.
Acting in the national interest, that decision established a precedent for the burial of former heads of state.
The Second President, Frederick Chiluba, was buried at Embassy Park in June 2011 under the leadership of President Rupiah Banda of the MMD.
The Fifth President, Michael Sata, was buried at Embassy Park in November 2014 under the leadership of Acting President Guy Scott of the PF.
Our First Republican President, Dr. Kenneth Kaunda, was buried at Embassy Park in July 2021 under the leadership of President Edgar Lungu of the PF.
On that occasion, members of the Kaunda family went to court seeking that he be buried next to his late wife, in keeping with what they held to be his wish.
The courts declined that application and upheld burial at Embassy Park, and President Kaunda was laid to rest there with full honours, in the national interest.
The Fourth President, Rupiah Banda, was buried at Embassy Park in March 2022 under the leadership of President Hakainde Hichilema of the UPND.
All of these former Presidents were buried at Embassy Park with full military honours, in line with the dignity of the office they held, regardless of the political circumstances at the time.
They were all buried according to national culture and practice, a tradition the current government sought to extend to President Lungu.
“We believed that we would honour the Sixth President as we have honoured all other former Presidents, and thereby give the millions of Zambians he led an opportunity to mourn him in their own country,” the ministry said.
Unfortunately, it added, this is not to be, as the family have decided to bury him in South Africa.
The government stressed that the nation has always understood the profound importance of a final resting place among one’s own people, and acted out of that understanding.
As a compassionate and sovereign state, Zambia said it respects the family’s decision and will allow the matter to rest following the South African court’s ruling.
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