Lungu family challenges High Court ruling at SCA - Elton Hart shares thoughts

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:00]And now to help us unpack the legal implications of the case and what the court will have to consider, we are now joined by Alton Hart, legal analyst from the University of Johannesburg. He joins us now via our video link. And Mr. Hart, thank you so much for your time this evening here on SABC News. I mean, let's start off here. Firstly, what do you make of the arguments being presented today in the court and particularly when it comes to former Zambian president Edgalongu's family saying that the high court is setting a bad precedent?

[00:00:32]No, I I indeed I would lean more to the Lu family's um argument because in a constitutional state like ours, South Africa, obviously one needs to look at uh individuals rights as entrenched in the bill of rights and then obviously one needs to look at how do you balance it with the public interest but I don't see how a state can say that they've got a a heavier right compared to the actual family because normally in terms of African families is if there's a grave site, the family would visit the grave site and not necessarily the government officials. And for me, I think that is then where I think the Lumu family say that the the high court failed to actually balance that act and say it would be a bad president to say a widow would not have a choice as to where her husband was buried just because he was a former president. And then also one needs to know that shortly before he came to South Africa his presidential benefits was also withdrawn and that should also be one of the factors that you need to look at to say that was that they're not in the public interest to make sure that the former statesman of yours gets the best medical treatment gets the necessary benefits and now you want to that same thing that you took away now you want to rely on that to actually bolster your argument >> and I mean here the issue is also around the constitutionality, right? And uh you know the constitutionality of a loved one being able to bury uh whether it's a former statesman or their loved one. Where does it place this matter particularly when you look at the constitution of Zambia and versus what you are mentioning that his rights fall away under uh the Zambian law.

[00:02:21]But remember the Zambian law, how it's written, it says uh the individual's rights needs to yield to the public interest. But how they structured their argument is to show that maybe to say here you've got a lesser right compared to the bigger right of the Zambian public. But what purpose does his burial serve under the Zambian constitution?

[00:02:43]Because he was a former state president.

[00:02:45]Course you can opt to say that listen here I want a state funeral. I want a private funeral. I mean our former state president um FWA clear um his family wanted to have like a small private gathering although he was entitled to that he was afforded that. So I think in terms of the South African framework if we're going to now say um the former presidents even if one of our former statement god forbid that nothing happens to them and they stay healthy for many years but if they their families also now up then we're going to say but now we have got two contradictory things cuz with every former statement we allowed a private burial and now we want to say families you don't have a choice then it means that right that's entrenched in the bill of rights that freedom of choice is and taken away from individuals and specifically here not just any individual a spouse is denied to actually determine the final resting place of her her loved one. So I think for me the Zambian government were arguing they were like sort of half make it seem like this important thing to the Zambian people but actually that was a disguise because one needs to look at the other factors that um plays around how this the relationship between the Lu family and the Zambian government saw >> and let's talk about uh the Zambian government's argument here saying that it's in the public's interest uh for a former statesman to be buried.

[00:04:10]um in Zambia and not according to the wishes of a spouse or their loved one.

[00:04:16]What do you make of that argument saying that it's in the interest of the Zambian people?

[00:04:23]But now one needs to look at is the Zambian people going to go to the grave and do com commemoration services? What interest, what public interest will his grave serve if it's on Zambian soil or somewhere else? And then they were not so clear in what they were articulating that to just say it's in the Zambing because it's in their law to say um individual's right needs to heal and that's what they latched on. But they did not demonstrate for me a clear public interest that will be served by former um president Edgar Lucas grave being in Zambia or being in South Africa. They did not demonstrate that clearly but clearly for the for the loved ones um where they actually are going to go and actually on the the person's birthday on the person's maybe uh wedding day some days or when you miss and depending on where the loved ones would ordinarily reside after that would play a a more important role than what they try to sort of put under the geese to say it's in the public interest and I think that was just a broad um sort of a argument that um was not clearly articulated while the uh Lunga family saying clearly that this is what we want. This is our wishes. This is the wishes of the spouse of this man and you cannot say that such a broad public interest argument should outweigh her personal right or her constitutional right in this instance.

[00:05:54]>> Yeah. And lastly, Mr. H before I let you go, what are your expectations then in terms of how the court will rule and what are the implications of that?

[00:06:05]I would think that the court should the rule in favor of the Edgar Lungu, the Lungu family and this is based on our former statesman EA declare that he was afforded that liberty that dignity for his family to respect the wishes of the family and we as a constitutional state I think we are big on respecting uh family's dignity citizens dignity and I think the court should rule in that favor. looking at everything and say, but here you've got a family that strongly feels that their loved one must be buried in South Africa. And I think um I I would lean that the court must move in that direction given that we already have an example where a former statesman was allowed to have a private burial.

[00:06:52]>> All right, Mr. Hot, thank you so much uh for your time and for that analysis.