Lungu family trying to move body out of SA, government tells court
GOVERNMENT has told the Pretoria High Court in South Africa that the family of former president Edgar Lungu are allegedly trying to move his body from South Africa to another country.
Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha is therefore demanding that the body be returned to the South African Police Service (SAPS) so that investigations into the cause of death can be completed.
In an affidavit filed before the court, Kabesha said the matter was urgent and that the family, being foreign nationals have both the ability and motivation to move the remains.
He further warned the court that moving the body out of South Africa would have serious consequences for the government of Zambia.
“I respectfully submit that the matter is sufficiently urgent to be dealt with on the basis set out in the attached Nalice. The members of the Lungu Family are peregrini of this Court. They have the power (and motivation) to move the body of the late Presiden to outside the Republic of South Africa, and should they proceed to do so (which verily believe they are in the process of doing) they would cause the Government of Zambia irreparable harm, ” wrote Kabesha.
Last Wednesday, the Pretoria High Court facilitated the handover of the former Head of State’s body to SAPS for investigation and a post mortem.
This followed earlier proceedings in which the Supreme Court of Appeal South Africa indicated that the Lungu family had failed to meet a March 30, 2026 deadline for filing heads of argument, resulting in their appeal being treated as lapsed.
Kabesha later clarified that the body would not be immediately repatriated to Zambia, as police were still conducting investigations into the circumstances surrounding Lungu’s death.
However, the court subsequently issued an urgent order directing that the body be returned to Two Mountains morgue, a decision which government is now challenging.
In fresh court papers, Kabesha argues that the family obtained that order without fully disclosing key facts to the judge, including existing court orders and ongoing legal processes.
He further told the court that police lawfully took custody of the body under the Inquests Act 1959 South Africa, which allows authorities to investigate deaths suspected to be unnatural and to conduct post mortems where necessary.
Kabesha also disputed claims that the body was being unlawfully repatriated, stating that it was instead held for investigation purposes and had been placed in a state facility under police control.
“This is an application for the reconsideration of an Order granted by the Honourable Judge Francis-Subbiah on 22 April 2026, ” read the document.
“The Government of Zambia would not obtain substantial redress if the matter is heard in due course, I respectully submit. I respectfully submit that the Court Order granted ex parte in the absence of the Government of Zambia on 22 April 2026 in the urgent application, falls to be reconsidered and be set aside.
“Because the misrepresentations and omissions in the Founding Affidavit where deliberate (or at best the result of gross negligence on the part of the Lungu Family), the Government of Zambia seeks an order that the costs of the reconsideration should be paid by the Applicants on the attorney and client scale, with such costs lo include those consequent upon the employment: of two counsel.”
Kabesha argued that the Lungu family had also taken the body to a different morgue, contrary to a July 2025 court order.
“The Lungu family did not instruct the SAPS to return the body of the late President to Two Mountains (who, as I have stated above, is obliged in terms of the 2 July 2025 Order to retain the body). The Lungu Family instructed the SAPS to surrender the body to a funeral parlour in the East Rand.”
“I do not wish to disclose particulars of the funeral parlour because of the sensitivity of the matter and in order to ensure the continued safekeeping of the tale President’s mortal remains, ” he said.
“I respectfully submit that when they brought the urgent ex parte application, the Lungu Family did not observe the utmost good faith. This is first, because they failed to draw the attention of the Honourable Court to the fact that VFV Attorneys were awaiting receipt of the court papers and particulars of the hearing which Mashele Attorneys have failed to provide them with.”
By Catherine Pule
Kalemba, April 29, 2026