BREAKING: SA Police quizz Lungu’s family in poisoning investigation
SOUTH AFRICAN Police have quizzed five members of Edgar Lungu’s family in an investigation that suggests that the former president may have been poisoned.
Lungu died on June 5 last year in a South African clinic, but his body remains stuck in a morgue that country, eight months on due to an ongoing repatriation-related legal battle between the Zambian government and the former president’s family.
However, the matter has now taken a dramatic twist as South African Police Service (SAPS) has formally summoned and recorded statements from five family members as part of a criminal probe into the alleged poisoning.
This is according to a letter seen by Kalemba, written by Mashele Attorneys Inc, the law firm representing the former first family.
In the letter, the lawyers confirm that they had complied with five subpoenas issued in connection with the poisoning investigation.
The lawyers did not state who exactly from the Lungu had been brought in for questioning.
“Our office has complied with five subpoenas issued in connection with the criminal investigation concerning the alleged poisoning of the late former President Edgar Lungu,” reads the letter.
The lawyers said statements requested from their clients had been delivered in accordance with the criminal proceedings and that the family remains committed to cooperating with the investigation within the bounds of the law.
The family has since denied the poisoning allegations.
The lawyers stated that their clients maintain the allegations are unfounded and unsupported by credible evidence and that this position has already been placed on official record.
The letter also reveals that the police have issued a subpoena to Two Mountains Funeral Services where Lungu’s body lies, directing that the body of the late former president be released into police custody.
However, the family’s lawyers have objected to the move, arguing that two existing High Court orders clearly state that the body must remain with the funeral home pending the finalisation of the legal proceedings.
They further noted that leave to appeal has already been granted by the Supreme Court of Appeal.
“Your office is aware that two extant High Court orders expressly direct that possession and custody of the body remain with Two Mountains Funeral Services pending the finalisation of the legal proceedings. Those orders are binding and operative. In addition, leave to appeal has been granted by the Supreme Court of Appeal.”
“The appeal is therefore alive, and at this juncture the operative court orders remain in force and must be respected pending the outcome of the appellate process. In the absence of a judicial variation or further order authorising removal, no person or entity is legally permitted to act inconsistently with those directives,” reads the document.
The lawyers further said the family demand strict compliance with the existing court orders and that any action taken in contravention thereof would be unlawful and subject to appropriate legal action.
“We trust that this correspondence clarifies our clients’ position and look forward to continued co-operation within the confines of the law,” stated the lawyers.
An attempt by Kalemba to get more details on the matter met temporal road block as the phone of Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, the South Africa Police spokesperson went unanswered multiple times.
By Catherine Pule
Kalemba, February 16, 2026
The ailing frail dictator is getting desperate now. He knows that his time is now up. His sangomas have told that it is either he sees the dead body, or he will die himself. His health has drastically deteriorated in recent weeks. He looks like a zombie. He must be rotting from inside. He is a dead man walking, that psychopath.
“HE THAT DIGS HOLES FOR OTHERS, SHALL HIMSELF BE BURIED IN THEM” – EDITH NAWAKWI.
VOTE FOR CHANGE IN AUGUST.