The legal dispute surrounding the final resting place of Zambia’s Sixth President, Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu, has escalated to South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). The court has granted the Lungu family leave to appeal against an earlier ruling by the Gauteng High Court, also known as the Pretoria High Court, which had ordered the family to surrender President Lungu's mortal remains to the Government of the Republic of Zambia for repatriation.

The Pretoria High Court’s decision, delivered on August 8, 2025, had stipulated that the Zambian Government was entitled to repatriate the former President’s remains and accord him a state funeral and official state honours in Lusaka, Zambia. This ruling came despite persistent objections from the Lungu family, who have consistently maintained that the matter of the funeral and the body's final disposition should be entirely their decision. President Lungu passed away on June 5, 2025, in South Africa after a prolonged illness, and the dispute over his burial arrangements has since evolved into a protracted legal confrontation spanning nearly six months, involving various courts, diplomatic channels, and state institutions.

The application for leave to appeal was heard on December 11, 2025, before Justices Makgoka JA and Steyn AJA. The SCA found merit in the Lungu family's application, with the order, signed by Acting Chief Registrar of the SCA, Z. V. D. Ntaka, formally granting permission to appeal. Furthermore, the court set aside the costs order of the lower court, ruling that all costs incurred both in the High Court and in the application for leave to appeal would be considered costs in the substantive appeal. The family, including widow Esther Lungu, had cited the Zambian Government, the funeral service provider Two Mountains, and South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) as respondents in their case.

The Lungu family argues that the High Court’s ruling violated their constitutional rights by undermining their familial discretion over the burial arrangements. An advocate representing the late President Lungu’s family previously described the Zambian government’s case as a “legal fantasy,” underscoring the contentious nature of this ongoing battle. With the Supreme Court of Appeal’s decision, the Lungu family is now cleared to file a substantive appeal, ensuring the legal contest over President Lungu's final resting place will continue.