Latest news with #MuliloKabesha
The Guardian
10 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Former Zambian president Edgar Lungu's funeral stopped on request of attorney general
The funeral of the former Zambian president Edgar Lungu has been stopped while mourners waited in a cathedral in Johannesburg, as an extraordinary feud Lungu had with his successor continues to play out after his death. A high court judge in Pretoria ordered a halt to Lungu's burial at the Cathedral of Christ the King in central Johannesburg on Wednesday morning, following a last-minute request by by Zambia's attorney general. Lungu's black-clad wife arrived at the cathedral, visibly upset, shortly after the judge's order and a mass was held instead. The judge ordered a full hearing to take place 4 August. Lungu, who led Zambia from 2015 to 2021, died in South Africa this month aged 68 after an undisclosed illness. His family said he had made a specific request that the current president, Hakainde Hichilema, should not attend his funeral. The government had planned a state funeral presided over by Hichilema. The attorney general, Mulilo Kabesha, told the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation that state funerals with full military honours were required by law, citing a previous local court ruling on the burial of Zambia's first president, Kenneth Kaunda. Kabesha said: 'The high court ruled that a former president is not a private arrangement, is not private property, is national property and his burial should be handled by the state. The moment that a national mourning is declared, the law kicks in.' Court papers filed by Kabesha said a grave had been prepared for Lungu in the national cemetery where all other former presidents were buried. A state funeral for Lungu has already been cancelled twice. Hichilema defeated Lungu in a bitterly fought election in 2021, having lost to him in 2016. In 2017, Hichilema was sent to prison for four months on charges of treason, when his convoy did not give way to Lungu's presidential motorcade. The charges were dropped and Hichilema released after an international outcry. After Hichilema took power, Lungu accused his successor of targeting him and in effect placing him under house arrest. In 2023, police stopped Lungu from going out for runs, saying they were 'political activism' and needed to be approved beforehand to 'ensure public safety'. Lungu's wife, Esther Lungu, and their children have faced various corruption charges. She has pleaded not guilty to charges of stealing cars, which she was due to face in court this week. Last year, Lungu attempted to return to frontline politics but was barred from running again for the presidency in next year's election. Zambia's constitutional court ruled that when Lungu took over as president after the incumbent, Michael Sata, died in 2015, the period until the 2016 election counted as a full first term in power. Associated Press contributed to this report
News24
12 hours ago
- Politics
- News24
High Court halts Lungu's funeral in SA after court challenge by Zambian government
DON EMMERT/AFP The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has ruled that the funeral service of former Zambian president Edgar Lungu should not to go ahead, pending an urgent court application. Essentially, the court has ruled in favour of the Zambian government which had sought to interdict the funeral from taking place on Wednesday. The decision was made after both parties came to an agreement. Lungu was scheduled to be laid to rest on Wednesday in a private ceremony at the Christ the King Cathedral in Hillbrow, defying Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema's directive that the late president's remains be repatriated and buried in Zambia. The legal battle was sparked when Zambia's Attorney General, Mulilo Kabesha, filed an urgent application on Tuesday night to prevent the funeral from going ahead. This move followed a failure to reach consensus between the Lungu family and the Zambian government regarding the planning of a state funeral. Lungu's remains were originally set to be returned to Zambia last week. However, the process stalled after the family expressed concerns over being excluded from significant decisions related to the state funeral.
Al Arabiya
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Zambian Government Tries to Stop a Former President's Funeral Taking Place in South Africa
The Zambian government filed court papers seeking to stop the private burial of former President Edgar Lungu in South Africa. A hearing took place about 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 has 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, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Pretoria. Lungu would then be buried in a private ceremony, according to his family. Lungu and Hichilema had a long history of political enmity in the southern African country. 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.
