The Zambian government has won a last-minute court order stopping the private burial of former President Edgar Lungu in South Africa.

Mourners gather in front of a banner ahead of the funeral of Zambia's former President Edgar Lungu, who died on June 5 while receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness in a South African hospital, before a church service at the Cathedral of Christ the King, and a private burial, in Hillbrow, Johannesburg June 25, 2025. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

Plans to repatriate his body back to his home country triggered a running battle between his family and the current Zambian administration over burial rights.