Amb Emmanuel Mwamba writes:
KABESHA DEMANDS ECL’S BODY
Just In-Kabesha Demands ECL’s Body Back, Claims It Was Taken for Post-mortem by South African Police
Attorney General of the Republic of Zambia, Mulilo Kabesha’s lawyers have applied to the Gauteng High Court to reclaim the remains of Zambia’s Sixth President, Edgar Chagwa Lungu.
The Zambian government has filed an urgent reconsideration application in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria against the ex-parte order which directed the immediate return of the remains of the former President to Two Mountains or designated mortuary of the family.
Kabesha charges that the body was obtained by the family or representative of the late President, and the court order was obtained without disclosing to court that the South African Police Services (SAPS) were conducting an investigation and were entitled to conduct a post-mortem as part of the inquest.
Following the illegal seizure and custody of President Lungu’s body, on April 22, 2026, the Zambian government took custody of the body from Two Mountains, claiming the family’s apoeal in the Supreme Court of Appeal had lapsed.
The body was taken away and an illegal postmortem was conducted on the former President’s body on April 23, 2026, at Tshwane Forensic Services in Pretoria, without the knowledge or consent of the family.
This was despite a high court order that directed the immediate return of the remains to Two Mountains Burial Services or another facility of the family’s choosing.
