25/06/2025
ATTORNEY General Mulilo Kabesha has argued that there is no basis for burying former president Edgar Lungu in South Africa, stating that the late leader did not die as a refugee.
Yesterday, the standoff between the Government and the family of the late president took a legal twist when Mr Kabesha filed an urgent application in a South African court seeking to suspend the burial, which was scheduled to take place today in Johannesburg.
The court has since responded by suspending the burial to allow time for the Attorney General to file an application to determine whether the body should be repatriated to Zambia.
Once the application is filed, the family of the former head of state has until July 4 to respond.
The court has further indicated that the matter can only be heard on July 18.
However, Mr Kabesha expressed hope that a compromise could be reached between the Government and the Lungu family, allowing for the issue to be resolved outside court before the hearing date.
“That gives us time to continue negotiations, to continue talking to each other. Perhaps the parties will change negotiators... so that we bring the remains of the former president to Zambia. That is our hope, there is no need to wait until the dates set by the court,” Mr Kabesha said.
Speaking during a special interview on ZNBC, Mr Kabesha said the government believes that the former president deserves to be buried in the country he served for seven years.
“The Government feels that President Lungu deserves to be buried in the country where he was president for seven years. Morally, culturally, and spiritually, he must be buried in this country, Zambia,” he said.
He added that it would be unfair to bury the former president in South Africa.
“To bury him in South Africa, whether or not one plans to exhume him later, is not fair. He was not a refugee. He went there because he was unwell. We need to honour him by bringing his body back,” Mr Kabesha said.
He also noted that the funeral of the late former president had become politicised.
