Lungu appeal case ‘frozen’, battle moves to ConCourt
By Tony Nkhoma
THE unfolding legal matter surrounding Zambia’s late sixth president Edgar Lungu’s final resting place has taken another twist in South Africa.
The appeal concerning the repatriation of late Lungu’s body has been adjourned indefinitely by the High Court in Pretoria after the family made an application before the Constitutional Court.
Yesterday, the Pretoria Division of the Gauteng Province High Court adjourned the application for leave to appeal by the Lungu family sine die.
In the application, Lungu’s family had been seeking leave to appeal the same court’s judgment in which it ordered the family to immediately surrender the body to the Zambian government for repatriation, state funeral and burial back in Zambia.
The court ruled that the matter be referred to the Constitutional Court, leaving the Lungu family as the sole custodians of Lungu’s remains until the final determination.
According to scholars sine die is a Latin legal term meaning “without a day”.
This means that the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has suspended proceedings indefinitely without setting a date for when the matter will resume.
