The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has dismissed, with costs, an application by the family of former Zambian President Edgar Lungu seeking leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal. His passing sparked a bitter legal dispute between his family and the Zambian state. In its judgment, the High Court found that the family’s application lacked merit, stressing that there were no reasonable prospects of success for an appeal. The matter did not raise any compelling constitutional or legal issues that warranted referral to the Supreme Court of Appeal. The judgment also reaffirms the principle that when it comes to state funerals for former heads of state, national law and public interest take precedence over private or family preferences.