The family of Zambia’s late president, Edgar Lungu, announced on Friday that he will be buried in South Africa after a row with the Zambian government over its plans for a state funeral.
Lungu’s family on Wednesday stopped his body from being repatriated from South Africa, where he died in hospital on June 5, after it emerged that President Hakainde Hichilema planned to receive it upon arrival against the late leader’s wishes.
In response, Hichilema cut short an extended period of national mourning for Lungu, whom he replaced in 2021 after winning elections.
Lungu’s funeral and burial “will take place here in South Africa, in accordance with the family’s wishes for a private ceremony”, spokesman Makebi Zulu said in a statement.
“The Lungu family continues to seek peace and unity amongst fellow Zambians during this time,” the statement said, thanking the South African government for its “non-interference and respect of the… rights of the family”.
The cause of the former president’s death at the age of 68 was not announced but he had been receiving specialised treatment in a clinic in Pretoria, his Patriotic Front party said.
He was elected to lead the copper-rich southern African country in 2015 but lost elections six years later to Hichilema, from the United Party for National Development.
Since then, his wife and children have been charged with corruption and possession of suspected proceeds of crime in what the family has claimed to be part of a political vendetta.
Lungu’s daughter Tasila Lungu was arrested in February on money laundering charges. She was previously detained alongside her mother and sister on fraud charges in 2024.
Her brother, Dalitso, is also facing corruption charges.
An initial seven days of mourning for Lungu was extended by another nine days to end on June 23, the day after the government had scheduled a state funeral for.
But Hichilema ended the period of mourning four days early on Thursday in reaction to the family’s refusal to allow the body to return.
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