Africa-Press – Zambia. THE Pretoria High Court in South Africa has ordered the family of late former Zambian President Edgar Chagwa Lungu to pay the legal costs of the Zambian Government, including fees for two senior lawyers, after dismissing their application to appeal a previous ruling.
“The application for leave to appeal is dismissed with costs, which includes the employment of two counsel on Scale C,” reads the judgement.
The Lungu family had applied for leave to appeal the High Court’s earlier judgment, seeking to have the matter heard by the Supreme Court.
They argued that as the former president’s heirs, they had the sole right to decide on his burial.
The family also claimed the case should be decided under South African law and criticised the government for allegedly failing to provide expert evidence on Zambian law.
The family further argued that a private arrangement, known as “FAA7,” authorised only them to manage the repatriation.
The court rejected all these arguments, stating that Zambia’s Attorney General, Mulilo Kabesha, is an expert in Zambian law.
“The allegation that the respondent failed to place expert evidence of Zambian law before this Court is without merit, as the Attorney General is an expert in Zambian law,” the judgment said.
The judges also clarified that Lungu’s removal from presidential benefits during his lifetime did not affect his status as a former President entitled to a state funeral.
“The argument that the deceased was stripped of his benefits is of no moment. He remains a former state president with attendant burial benefits at state expense upon death,” said the court.
The court also said private arrangements cannot override the state’s authority.
“The mere fact that ‘FAA7’ records that the parties will consult and agree as to who will speak at all events does not vitiate the consensus that was reached. Conflicts and disagreements about burial rights are a common feature in our courts,” explained the ruling.
The High Court stated that the matter did not raise broader constitutional issues and was too fact-specific to justify an appeal.
“We are satisfied that no compelling reasons exist to grant leave to appeal simply because the matter is so fact specific that there is very little to no prospects that the same set of facts will confront a Court again,” the judgment added.
Before this judgment, the Lungu family and the Zambian Government had engaged in formal talks aimed at reaching an amicable agreement over the burial impasse, but no consensus has been reached yet…https://kalemba.news/local/pretoria-court-orders-lungu-family-to-pay-government-lawyers/
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