Edgar Lungu’s son wants State to give him back 79 vehicles

Dalitso Lungu wants State to give him back 79 vehicles

EDGAR Lungu’s son, Dalitso wants the State to give him back the 79 vehicles and 25 other properties his ‘loving’ daddy gifted to him.

Through his lawyers, Messrs Malisa and Partners, Dalitso and his company, Saloid Traders Limited, have filed a Notice of Intention to Appeal and a Memorandum of Appeal challenging the February 9, 2026 judgment of the Economic and Financial Crimes Court (EFCC).

The lower court had ordered the forfeiture of the fleet of vehicles valued at over K24 million and multiple pieces of land dotted across the country after finding that the properties were “tainted” and reasonably suspected to be proceeds of crime.

But Dalitso now argues that the High Court judges erred in law and in fact when they concluded that the properties were proceeds of crime without identifying any specific serious offence allegedly committed.

In his grounds of appeal, Dalitso contends that the court wrongly shifted the burden of proof onto him after the State established what it termed “reasonable grounds to suspect” the properties were tainted.

He argues that this approach contravened Sections 31 and 34 of the Forfeiture of Proceeds of Crime Act and effectively reversed the statutory burden of proof.

Dalitso further argues that the court misdirected itself by premising the Non-Conviction Based Forfeiture Order on Section 71 of the Act instead of limiting itself to Sections 29 and 31.

He also faults the court for allegedly departing from binding authority in the case of Sydney Mwansa v The Director of Public Prosecutions (Appeal No. 276/2021) decided on June 11, 2024, which he says is the highest judicial authority on the interpretation of non-conviction based forfeiture provisions.

In another ground, the former first son claims the court rejected his unchallenged affidavit evidence that his late daddy financed the purchase of some of the properties, while at the same time accepting what he describes as hearsay evidence from the State.

He further argues that the court erred in accepting the State’s valuation of the motor vehicles at over K23 million without independent or credible valuation evidence.

“The Court below erred in law and in fact in accepting the Respondent’s assertion that the aggregate value of the motor vehicles… was ZMW 23,050,842.49 when this figure was not supported by any independent or credible evidence of valuation,”said Dalitso.

“The Court below erred in law and in fact when it rejected the Appellants’ unchallenged affidavit evidence that the late former President Edgar Chagwa Lungu financed the purchase of certain properties.”

The appeal also seeks to challenge the decision to condemn him in costs.

The Director of Public Prosecutions, under the National Prosecution Authority, had successfully applied for Non-Conviction Based Forfeiture after investigations revealed that Dalitso and his company possessed unexplained wealth running into tens of millions of kwacha, far exceeding their declared income.

In its February 9 judgment, the EFCC held that investigations conducted at ZRA and other institutions showed that neither Dalitso nor Saloid Traders Limited had the financial capacity to acquire the properties in the manner and at the rate they did.

The EFCC said that Dalitso cannot innocently claim to have been gifted a filling station by his father as the manner in which the land in Jack compound was obtained from the Lusaka City Council, gifted to him and later leased to Total Energies has no legal foundation.

In forfeiting his 79 vehicles and 25 pieces of land the Court said Dalitso had alleged that he used profits from his businesses and claimed that he was a commercial farmer yet he could not mention a single crop that he sowed or reaped and any livestock he reared nor mention a single name of the people he sold his farm produce to, which makes the property tainted.

The Court said the failure to prove the source of his funds to purchase property way beyond his legitimate income proves that the same was illegally obtained.

In this matter that State had moved a motion before the EFCC to have 69 vehicles worth over K24 million and 25 pieces of land dotted across the country in Kanakantapa of Chongwe district, Chibombo, Chisamba, Solwezi, Masaiti in Ndola district, Chilanga, Petauke and Nakonde belonging to Dalitso confiscated.

By Catherine Pule

Kalemba, February 27, 2026