The family of Zambia’s former President Edgar Lungu said he will be buried in South Africa in a private ceremony following a row with the government over the funeral arrangements.
Late on Thursday, President Hakainde Hichilema cut short a period of national mourning after Lungu’s family refused to allow his body to be repatriated from South Africa as planned.
His funeral had been set for Sunday in Zambia’s capital, Lusaka.
The family now says it will announce later when Lungu will be buried in Johannesburg in “dignity and peace”.
It will be the first time a former head of state of another country is buried in South Africa.
In his will, Lungu said that Hichilema, his long-time rival, should not attend his funeral.
The government and his family later agreed he would have a state funeral before relations broke down over the precise arrangements.
“We wish to announce that the funeral and burial of our beloved Dr Edgar Chagwa Lungu will take place here in South Africa, in accordance with the family’s wishes for a private ceremony,” family spokesperson Makebi Zulu said in a statement.
Mr Zulu thanked the South African government for “non-interference” and honouring the family’s decision and desire during “this deeply emotional period”.
In his address on Thursday, President Hichilema said that Lungu, as a former president, “belongs to the nation of Zambia” and his body should therefore “be buried in Zambia with full honours, and not in any other nation”.
However, because of the row, he announced an immediate end to the mourning period, saying the country needed to “resume normal life”.
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