The decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) to rule in favour of the family of late Zambian President Edgar Lungu has been welcomed by traditional leaders and loved ones.
This comes after the High Court in Pretoria ruled in August last year that the Zambian government was entitled to repatriate Lungu’s remains for the purposes of a state funeral and burial.
However, the SCA set aside that ruling and found the Zambian government failed to establish a right under either the common law or contract to override the family’s burial decision.
Lungu’s close friend Chanoda Ngwira says they are happy with the Supreme Court of Appeal’s ruling. A major legal and diplomatic standoff has come to an end, we are quite elated and I think the nation is in a mood of jubilation because this has been long overdue. When somebody dies, it is the family that decides how, when and where that person should be buried. I want to thank the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa for this great and grand judgment that actually protects the interest of our tradition and our culture and just to put this matter to rest, which had taken over 12 months.”
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Meanwhile, Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (CONTRALESA) president, Kgosi Mathupa Mokoena, says that according to African culture and traditions, the family has a right to decide where to bury their loved ones.
He said, “This judgment gives the family of the former Zambian president the right to bury their loved one at the place of their choice. In terms of our culture and tradition, it is the next of kin who have the right to decide where to bury, not government. The family of the Zambian president have suffered enough. It is high time now they get closure on this matter.”
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