THE SUSPENSION OF LUNGU'S BENEFITS FOR ENGAGING IN ACTIVE POLITICS WAS LIFTED UPON HIS DEATH - STATE SUBMITS
THE SUSPENSION OF ECL’S BENEFITS FOR ENGAGING IN ACTIVE POLITICS WAS LIFTED UPON HIS DEATH – STATE SUBMITS
July 3rd, 2025
PRETORIA – The Zambian Government has filed an amended notice of motion in the Pretoria High Court, South Africa, seeking the repatriation and burial of former President Edgar Lungu in Zambia.
In its submission, the government argues that the late President Lungu did not specify in his will how or where he wished to be buried.
It further contends that, as a beneficiary under the Former Presidents’ Benefits Act, it should be presumed that he intended to be given a state funeral in accordance with Zambian customs and traditions.
The state maintains that Mr. Lungu’s acceptance of benefits under the Act should be interpreted as an expression of his burial wishes.
Additionally, the government argues that Mr. Lungu was never disqualified from receiving those benefits, as outlined in Section 5(2) of the Act. Instead, it explains that his entitlement was merely suspended when he re-entered active politics, and that suspension ceased upon his death.
As a result, the state asserts that it regained the right to provide a state funeral, fully funded and conducted in line with national customs and traditions.
President Lungu died on June 5, 2025, in South Africa.
Following a dispute between the family and the Zambian state, the family opted to bury him in South Africa. However, on June 25, 2025, the Pretoria High Court halted the burial pending the outcome of the legal proceedings.
