A South African court has blocked the repatriation of the remains of former Zambian President Edgar Lungu, blocking new plans for a state funeral and deepening a nearly 10-month long dispute.
It is the latest blow to President Hakainde Hichilema's government, which wants to bury him in Zambia, contrary to the family's preference for South Africa, where he died in hospital on June 5.
Zambian Attorney General Mulilo Kabesh said on Tuesday that a court had formally handed over the remains to the government after the family failed to file an appeal.
Lungu's family sought an immediate injunction, with the High Court in Pretoria saying the application was “dealt with as a matter of extreme urgency”.
The court ordered the Zambian government to return the remains to a private funeral home or another facility of the family's choice.
Judge Rochelle Francis-Subbiah said that this order will remain in force till May 21.
Lungu's family has repeatedly blocked efforts to repatriate his body, saying he did not want his successor Hichilema at his funeral, sparking a protracted legal battle.
Zambia in turn blocked his burial in South Africa while funeral proceedings were already underway.
Lungu, who was 68 when he died on June 5 last year, was a political rival of Hichilema, to whom he lost power in a landslide in 2021.
His wife and children have since been accused of corruption, which loyalists claim is part of a political vendetta.
In August, a court in Pretoria ruled that Zambian law applied and ordered the family to hand over the body to authorities – a decision the family sought to challenge through the courts.
The formal mourning period declared after Lungu's death was itself drawn into controversy.
The initial seven-day national mourning was extended to nine days, scheduled to end on 23 June, the day the government had planned a state funeral.
But Hichilema ended the period four days early, citing the family's persistent refusal to allow the body to be brought back.
His Patriotic Front party said the former president's cause of death had not been announced, but he was receiving special treatment at a clinic in Pretoria.
He suffered from recurrent achalasia, a condition caused by narrowing of the esophagus.