In life, he was a man of peace who preached humanism and unity, but in death, Zambia’s late founding father Kenneth Kaunda has become a divisive figure.
On Tuesday, family members of the much-loved and respected statesman asked the high court in Lusaka to challenge the planned state funeral.
Kaunda died on 17 June at the age of 97.
Relatives of Zambia’s founding leader Kenneth Kaunda on Tuesday asked the court in a bid to block his interment.
The government has stated that Kaunda would be laid to rest at the country’s presidential burial site, Embassy Park, in Lusaka.
Last week on Friday several heads of state hailed Kaunda as a hero of the struggle against white rule in southern Africa.
He was supposed to be laid to rest on Wednesday, but the court action has placed the arrangement in doubt.
Dissenting relatives have asked the court to allow them to bury Kaunda next to his wife Betty, who died in 2012.
The former first lady was buried at the residence Farm Estate situated behind State Lodge off Leopards Hill Road.
This is where relatives say Kaunda expressed his wish to be laid to rest.
AFP reports that in court documents dated Tuesday, one of the sons Kaweche, asked the high court to declare “null and void” the government’s plan to bury Kaunda at Embassy Park.
One of the letters attached to the application was signed by several of Kaunda’s children and grandchildren.
The Zambian government has not commented on the legal action.
