The late Edgar Lungu had reportedly ordered that his successor should not attend his funeral

A South African court has blocked the burial of former President of Zambia Edgar Lungu at a private ceremony just as it was about to begin. The ruling on Wednesday came amid a dispute between the ex-leader's family and the Zambian government over his funeral arrangements.

Mourners gathered at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Johannesburg, South Africa, were reportedly informed of the court's decision only after the funeral mass had concluded.

The Zambian government had initially planned a state funeral presided over by President Hichilema, while Lungu's family had opted for a private burial in South Africa. The two sides later reached an agreement for a state funeral, but relations broke down over the specific arrangements.

Last week, President Hichilema announced that the "people of Zambia were prepared to receive the remains" of his predecessor on June 18, but were "surprised by the family's reversal of the agreed course of action."

"While we recognize that he belongs to a family, he also belongs to the nation of Zambia," Hichilema said, arguing that it is "correct" for the "6th Republican President to be buried in Zambia with full honors."

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Zambian Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha filed an urgent case in the High Court in South Africa's capital, Pretoria, on Tuesday to halt the burial planned by the late president's family. Kabesha told the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation that state funerals with full military honours were required by law, referencing a previous court ruling on the burial of Zambia's first president, Kenneth Kaunda.

In its ruling, the Pretoria court ordered a full hearing to be held on August 4.

Lungu had been a longtime political rival of Hichilema. Hichilema defeated him in the 2021 election after losing in 2016. In 2017, Hichilema was jailed for four months on treason charges after his convoy allegedly failed to give way to Lungu's motorcade, but the case was later dropped. When Hichilema took power, Lungu accused his successor of targeting him and placing him under house arrest.

Last year, Zambian authorities arrested two men in connection with an alleged plot by a Lungu ally to bewitch Hichilema.