Halt to burial in Johannesburg is latest chapter in feud Edgar Lungu had with his successor Hakainde Hichilema
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 after a last-minute request by Zambia’s attorney general.
Lungu’s wife, who was visibly upset, arrived at the cathedral shortly after the judge’s order and a mass was held instead. The judge ordered a full hearing to take place on 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.
