NEW TWIST GOVERNMENT DEMANDS RETURN OF LUNGU’S BODY IMMEDIATELY AS COURT BATTLE CONTINUES
The Government of Zambia has told the Pretoria High Court that the family of former President Edgar Lungu is allegedly attempting to move his body out of South Africa to another country.
In urgent court filings, Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha warned that such a move could undermine ongoing investigations into the cause of death.
He is demanding that the remains be handed back to the South African Police Service (SAPS) to allow the process to be completed.
Kabesha argued that the matter is urgent, stating that the Lungu family, as foreign nationals, has both the capacity and motivation to remove the body from South Africa an action he says would cause irreparable harm to the Zambian government.
The dispute follows a series of court decisions, including an earlier ruling that allowed SAPS to take custody of the body for a postmortem under South Africa’s Inquests Act.
However, a subsequent order directed that the remains be returned to a private morgue, a decision now being challenged by the Zambian government.
In fresh submissions, Kabesha accused the Lungu family of obtaining that order without fully disclosing key facts, including existing legal processes and prior court directives.
He also alleged that the family moved the body to a different funeral facility in violation of an earlier court order.
The government maintains that the body is being lawfully held for investigative purposes and has denied claims that it was attempting to repatriate the remains prematurely.
It is now seeking to have the recent court order set aside, while also requesting that the family bear legal costs for what it describes as misrepresentation.
The case continues to unfold in South Africa, with tensions rising between the government and the Lungu family over the handling of the late president’s remains.
Now,its the Lungu family that has stolen the body by cheating the courts