Zambian government tries to stop a former president's funeral taking place in South Africa
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The Zambian government filed court papers seeking to stop the private burial of former President Edgar Lungu in South Africa on Wednesday. A hearing took place around an hour before his funeral service was meant to begin.
The Zambian government wants Lungu to have a state funeral at home — something Lungu's family have refused to allow because of his bitter political feud with current Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema.
Members of Lungu's family, who were dressed in black for the funeral, traveled to a courthouse in the South African administrative capital, Pretoria, for the hearing that would decide if he could be buried. It was not clear when a judge would issue a ruling.
Lungu, who was Zambia's leader from 2015 to 2021, died of an undisclosed illness in a South African hospital on June 5 at the age of 68.
A state funeral for him in Zambia was canceled twice because of disagreements over the details of the burial. His family and lawyers said he left specific instructions that Hichilema should not attend his funeral, while the Zambian government said Hichilema was due to preside over the state funeral.
Zambia's Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha filed papers in a South African court Tuesday seeking an urgent injunction to stop Wednesday's funeral, according to Zambia's national broadcaster ZNBC. The court papers demand that the former president be buried in Zambia with full military honors, as mandated by Zambian law and in keeping with the public interest, ZNBC reported.
Lungu's funeral service was due to take place at a church in Johannesburg, around 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Pretoria. Lungu would then be buried in a private ceremony, according to his family.
Lungu beat Hichilema in a 2016 presidential election, and his government imprisoned Hichilema for four months in 2017 on charges of treason because his convoy didn't give way to the president's motorcade on a road. The move to imprison Hichilema was widely criticized by the international community and Hichilema was released and the charges dropped.
Hichilema defeated Lungu in a 2021 vote. Last year, Lungu accused Hichilema's government of using the police to restrict his movements and effectively place him under house arrest. The government denied the accusations.
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