Former Zambian Ambassador to South Africa Emmanuel Mwamba has written to the South African president protesting what he describes as the desecration of former President Edgar Lungu’s remains, nearly 11 months after his death, as his body remains in a South African mortuary amid an ongoing dispute between the Zambian government and Lungu’s family over who decides where, how, and when he is buried.
Full Letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa by former Zambian ambassador to South Africa, Emmanuel Mwamba
Your Excellency,
SUBJECT; DESECRATION OF THE MORTAL REMAINS OF ZAMBIA’S SIXTH REPUBLICAN PRESIDENT, DR. EDGAR CHAGWA LUNGU
I am Emmanuel Mwamba. I have been privileged to have served as Zambia’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Zambia’s Ambassador to Ethiopia, and Permanent Representative to the African Union (AU).
Your Excellency, I wish to bring serious concerns regarding issues surrounding the mortal remains of Zambia’s Sixth Republican President, Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu, a legal dispute your government, the judiciary, the Zambian Government, and the family have been grappling with.
Of concerns however, are events that occurred on Wednesday, April 22nd, 2026, where the remains of the former President were collected from Two Mountains Funeral Services in Johannesburg by persons introducing themselves as Zambian officials and.
The removal of the remains of President Edgar Lungu was done without any legal authority, or consent, or presence of the family.
The details are that on Wednesday, 22 April 2026, persons identifying themselves as South African Police Sgt Nompilo Ngwenya of Pretoria and Zambian officials arrived at Two Mountains Funeral Services in Johannesburg, where the President’s body has been held.
They group claimed that the Attorney General of the Republic of Zambia was enforcing a high court order issued in August 2025 by Deputy Judge President, Aubrey Ledwaba of the Gauteng High Court which ordered the repatriation of President Lungu’s mortal remains to Zambia in order for the Government to conduct a state funeral, as the family’s appeal had alleged lapsed.
The group seized the body, removed it from Two Mountains, and transported it away.
When the family learnt of these serious development, and recognizing that there was a valid appeal in the Supreme Court of Appeal and the parallel application by the Progressive Forces of South Africa (PFSA) in the Randburg Magistrate Court for both inquest and postmortem, is only coming up for determination on 29th May 2026, sought urgent help from their lawyer
The family lawyers, Mashele Attorney Inc immediately sought court protection and managed to secure a high court order on the night of 22 April 2026, when the Honourable Justice Francis Subbiah granted a further Court Order directing, inter alia, that the body of the late President, Edgar Lungu be returned without any delay to the custody of Two Mountains Burial Services (Pty) Ltd or alternatively to a mortuary nominated by the family expressly interdicting the handing over of the body to SAPS, and calling upon the relevant parties to show why they should not be held in contempt of court.
Despite the previously mentioned Order being duly served on all relevant parties, and notwithstanding that receipt of such an Order was acknowledged, the body of the late President was not taken back as ordered and the court order was with impunity, totally disregarded.
Facts have since emerged that show that the body was transported from Two Mountains to Tshwane Forensic Services in Pretoria where a post-mortem examination, without any legal basis or family presence, was conducted from 08:30 to 14:00 on Thursday, 23 April 2026, led by a person identified as MS Shirley Jena Stuart, Chief Specialist, Head of Clinical Department at Gauteng Department of Health, Forensic Pathology Services.
In this regard, the Attorney General of Zambia, Mr. Mulilo Kabesha SC, has since issued a public statement claiming that the illegal postmortem was conducted by the South African Police Services and was not done at the behest or instructions of the Zambian Government
This raises a serious matter as the postmortem procedure was never authorized by the 25 August 2025 Gauteng high court judgement, or by the proceedings of the Randburg Magistrate Court, and was not authorized or witnessed by any family member of the Lungu family, or their lawyers.
These actions have violated the rights of President Edgar Lungu, violently offended our culture, disregarded the wishes of the Lungu family, abused the legal process, desecrated the remains of the late President, and has raised serious tensions between our people in Zambia and the Government of South Africa.
Your Excellency, I and many Zambians are demanding answers why the remains of the late President have been violated and desecrated in this manner by individuals acting in the name of your government.
Your response to this serious matter will be appreciated.
Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba
Former Zambia’s High Commissioner to South Africa
Former Ambassador to Ethiopia
Former Permanent Representative to the African Union.
Useless propagandist, the Zambians want the body of the former president to be brought to Zambian, period! If you served in whatever portfolios, I don’t care, you’re not special, at this point you’re useless because you’ve vested, simpliy put, political interest in the former president’s body for your political survival
This is what happens when you are currently politically irrelavant because there is too much former in your introduction, former this, former that. No one elected you or choose you to speak for Zambians, speak for yourself. People want closure on the matter not mingalato…
President Ramaphosa is the commander-in-chief of the South African Police Service. They couldn’t have done what they did to the body of a dead former president of another country without his knowledge. Amazing to see how some want to tell an agency of the South African state how it should operate in South Africa.
There’s need for concerted efforts on all
Fronts to ensure that Zambians know the Truth regarding what happened in South Africa last week.
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa reigns Supreme…and that Constitution respects the Rulings of the Courts. South Africa is not a Banana Republic where people can just bulldoze themselves into a Morgue, get the remains of some one, and conduct a Post Mortem.
There are laws to be followed.
If these are not followed , then it becomes political and it is within the rights of any Zambian Citizen to demand answers from the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa. This is what Ambassador Emmanuel Mwamba has done…and also what the Family has done through it’s lawyers.
This is no longer within the Confines of the Courts…
The Gauteng High Court Judgment which ” True Liar ” Mulilo Kabesha claimed was being enforced , had very explicit terms and these were not adhered to. WHY ???
The ” True Liar ” Kabesha later changed position that it was actually the South African Government through the SAP which was handling the body using what ever rulings! True Liar Kabesha Mulilo now in the realm of Confusion!
Evidence however suggest that the Government of the Republic of Zambia was heavily involved…from the Removal of the body , to the Post Mortem.
A High Court Order was later obtained by the Lawyers of the family to immediately take back the body of the late President to Two Mountains Funeral Parlour. The funeral Parlour very interestingly stated that they were not ready to receive back the remains , a dubious position, which raises very interesting conspiracy theories…that some one might have gotten some blood money to adopt this position.
A Court Order was obtained and saved on the South African Government to release the body …but nevertheless, they still went ahead and conducted the Post Mortem, without even the Presence of the family.
From the foregoing it is in order for Ambassador Emmanuel Mwamba to write to the South African Government. Cyril Ramaphosa can’t hide in the Judicial Processes. His government is not following the Court rulings. He must tell us , the interested Zambians who are appalled by the desecration of the remains of our late President, Edgar Lungu what really is happening in South Africa.
Read the response to Emmanuel Mwamba’s letter to RSA President.
Don’t play with RSA the way you do with GRZ lest you sign a deportation order for the family. Let be careful in our emotional reactions. You dealing with a very strong judiciary..The RSA judiciary.
Mwamba is good at twisting facts. Look at the way he frames the story about what happened. He is writing like his position is the correct one as if he can stand in the courts of law as a competent witness while presenting hearsay. Terms like “illegal postmortem,” appeal allegedly collapsed “,” disregard of the law”, “Impunity” all framed like his romours are the only correct version of the story. He is behaving like the South African president directs the police and the courts to do there duties. What is he expecting the President to do in issues that are in the courts? If you read between the lines of statements from the South African government, they are not interested in the body. The Minister of International Cooperation has made it clear that his government “wishes to see this matter closed so that the former president of Zambia is given a dignified burial at home.” What is difficult to understand from such statements? The South African government is just being dragged into the impasse. I think if it were up to them, the remains of the former president should have been repatriated to Zambia and let them stay away from the drama. They are just being diplomatic otherwise it would have been easier to say “get you body out of our country and go and play politics in your country”.
Very true: Get the body out of RSA and bring the cinfusion here at home.
They are insulting the crocodile while standing in water OR biting the finger that is feeding them.
If i were SASASA President i would get rid of them from RSA. Why start dragging SASASA into this mess.
We wait for reaction from President Ramaphosa or blind eye.
These are the same people who will delay the burial day not yet known.And they don’t seem to love peace.