SA Government Hopes Lungu Will Be Buried At Home

The South African Government has said it is hopeful that former President Edgar Lungu will be buried in Zambia following a ruling by the country’s Constitutional Court.

Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, Minister for International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola called on the Lungu family and Zambian Government to settle the dispute amicably.

“On the burial of the former Zambian President, we’ve maintained this from the onset on the matter and we are hopeful that this ruling might signal some finality that he will be buried back in Zambia, in his home,” Mr Lamola said.

“The Zambian government and the family of the former President Lungu will find each other on the processes. So it has always been our message to both parties,” he added.

On Tuesday, the Constitutional Court in Pretoria refused to grant the Lungu family leave to appeal an earlier decision by the High Court, which ordered the repatriation of President Lungu’s body for a state funeral and burial at Embassy Park in Lusaka.

Reacting to the ruling, Secretary to the Cabinet Patrick Kangwa said that Government remains committed to reaching an agreement with Mr Lungu’s family which balances their wishes with the rights and responsibilities of government.

“Now is the time for all of us to keep the Lungu family in our thoughts and prayers as they mourn the loss of the former President,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.