By A Correspondent
Plans to bury the late former Zambian President Edgar Lungu in South Africa have been halted after a court challenge was lodged demanding the repatriation of his body to Zambia. The urgent matter, heard on 25 June 2025 resulted in a temporary court order suspending any funeral or burial proceedings pending final determination of the main application.
Latest on the burial of Edgar Chagwa Lungu’s burial…
[Court Proceedings – Transcript by ZimEye] In the matter concerning the burial dispute of the late President of Zambia
Date: 25 June 2025
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Counsel for Applicant: May it please you, My Lady. I appear for the applicant, together with Mylona Junior and Mr. Marcus.
Presiding Judge: Good morning, Mr. Stewart.
Counsel for Respondents: Good morning, My Lady. I appear for the first to seventh respondents. I’ve had a discussion with my clients to obtain final instructions. The instructions I received should take care of the matter before the court today.
Obviously, I just need to consult briefly with my senior friend to see if we can agree on a draft order — but we will proceed on that basis.
My instructions are to give certain undertakings to the applicant, which should address the issues at hand for today’s proceedings.
The family of the deceased — the late President — does not wish for a piecemeal funeral process. It is not what he deserves, particularly given his status and legacy.
That said, we are prepared to provide undertakings to the applicant that would resolve the immediate application. We simply need to confer on suitable timeframes for the main application, which the applicant will need to serve.
Accordingly, we ask to stand the matter down briefly while we finalise discussions.
Judge: Thank you, counsel.
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State Counsel (Supporting the Applicant): I would like to place on record that the State fully acknowledges the grief and pain endured by the family and relatives — as well as the Zambian nation — resulting from the current dispute.
President Edgar Lungu of Zambia passed away on the 5th of June, 2025. As Africans, culturally, we believe that the deceased should be laid to rest in a respectful and dignified manner.
I would also like to thank the Indigo representatives for engaging meaningfully on this serious matter, and for reaching agreement on how the legal process should unfold if the parties are unable to settle.
Given that the public has a keen interest in this case, I will now read the order being made by agreement between the parties.
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[Order of the Court]
By agreement between the parties, the following order is issued: 1. The first to seventh respondents undertake not to proceed with the funeral and/or burial of the late President pending finalisation of the application in Prayer 5, infra. 2. Any party wishing to intervene in this application must file a notice of motion and founding affidavit (or any other affidavit) on or before 18 July 2025. 3. Any party wishing to be joined in the application as amicus curiae must also file their notice of motion and founding affidavit on or before 18 July 2025. 4. The notice to oppose is to be filed by the respondents, or any other interested party, on or before 30 June 2025. 5. The applicant is ordered to file its amended notice of motion and supplementary affidavit seeking the repatriation of the body of the late President of Zambia on or before 4 July 2025. 6. The respondents are ordered to file their opposing affidavits on or before 11 July 2025. 7. The applicant is to file its replying affidavit, heads of argument, chronology, and list of authorities on or before 18 July 2025. 8. The respondents are to file their heads of argument, chronology, and list of authorities on or before 24 July 2025. 9. All participants are to file a joint practice note and joint chronology on or before 25 July 2025. 10. The matter will be heard as a special motion on 4 August 2025. 11. All parties agree to electronic service on their appointed attorneys of record. 12. The costs of the urgent application are reserved, to be determined upon hearing of the main application. 13. Only the first to seventh respondents are permitted to visit and/or inspect, or to allow any other individual to visit and/or inspect the body of the late President.
That is the order of this court.
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Counsel: My pleasure, Your Honour.