ATTORNEY General Mulilo Kabesha has denied reports that the Zambian Government had physical custody of the remains of former President Edgar Lungu, saying the body has been held by South African authorities.
Speaking on the national broadcaster ZNBC, Mr. Kabesha said: “The remains of the Sixth Republican President have at no point been in the physical custody of the Government of the Republic of Zambia.
They were held by the South African Police Service through these few days that have passed in connection with their inquest.”
Mr. Lungu died in South Africa on 5 June 2025 while receiving treatment for throat cancer, an illness disclosed in court documents by his family.
The South African police opened an inquest on 5 June 2025 to determine the circumstances of his death. A postmortem was reportedly conducted, but the Lungu family has protested that it was done without their consent or presence.
Mr. Kabesha said the remains were handed to the family on the evening of Thursday, 23 April 2026.
The Attorney General stressed that President Hakainde Hichilema’s interest in the burial is “purely constitutional.”
“His interest has always been that his predecessor is accorded the dignity the office demands,” Mr. Kabesha said. “The question of how a former president is to be laid to rest is not closed by the latest court order. Mr. Lungu served as President and the duty the republic owes to that office is not extinguished by a single order on custody.”
There is a prolonged legal battle in South Africa over burial arrangements. The Lungu family is challenging a South African High Court judgment that ordered the release of the body to the Zambian Government for repatriation and burial at Embassy Park in Lusaka.
The family argues the judgment did not consider their rights as next of kin. They have also stated that Mr. Lungu left instructions that President Hichilema, his political rival and successor, should not be near his body.
Mr. Kabesha added that Government has respected and will continue to respect every court order “as a matter of principle.”
Mr. Lungu, a lawyer, served as President from 2015 to 2021, when he lost to Mr. Hichilema.
(Mwebantu, Saturday, 25th April, 2026)