Judge halts burial of Lungu in South Africa
A South African judge halted the burial of former Zambian president Edgar Lungu while the funeral service was underway, in an escalation of a standoff between his family and the government.
Lungu, who died on June 5 while seeking medical care in South Africa, was a rival of President Hakainde Hichilema, who wanted to lead a state funeral for his predecessor in Zambia.
Lunguโs family opposed the plans and blocked his body from being repatriated, saying he would not have wanted Hichilema at his funeral. Zambia in turn filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the burial in South Africa.
Mourners gathered
In a ruling delivered as Lunguโs widow and other mourners were already gathered in the church, a Gauteng region High Court judge said that, after an agreement between the parties, โrespondents undertake not to proceed with the funeral or burial of the late presidentโ.
The case will be heard on August 4, he said, in a decision that was carried by national broadcaster SABC โ which also showed live images of people gathered for the service for Lungu, president from 2015 to 2021.
The adjournment โis extending the pain, the grief, that the family and the people are going throughโ, Zambian lawmaker Chanda Katotobwe, part of the delegation present at the memorial service, told SABC News.
The cause of the former presidentโs death at age 68 was not announced.
He had been receiving specialised treatment in a clinic in Pretoria, his Patriotic Front party said.
