04/23/2026
South African mortuary did NOT say "don't bring back your body here."
This is the kind of fabrication or twisting of words that keeps Zambians offending each other especially in delicate times such as this. Again, I'd like to appeal to everyone to show sensitivity towards the Lungu family at this time.
Don’t bring back your body here, we just complied with the law, mortuary tells Lungu family
THE morgue where former president Edgar Lungu's body was kept for the past 10 months has told lawyers representing the Lungu family that if they decide to go to court, they should not seek an order to return the body to Two Mountains Burial Services.
In a document seen by Kalemba, lawyers from ENSafrica, acting for the funeral service provider said their client had already complied with a court order after failing to receive any legal basis to delay its ex*****on.
The lawyers stated that the remains are no longer under the care or control of their client as they have since been taken into custody by the South African Police Service for ongoing investigations.
"We have been advised by the Zambian Government's attorney that; the body will not be immediately repatriated so that the SAPS can continue with their investigations and the remains of the late President have been taken by the SAPS to a state facility," read the document.
They added that their client had been caught in a difficult position which resulted in significant legal costs.
“Our client has been placed in an invidious position as it had to incur significant legal costs relating to the disputes between your client, the Zambian government and the SAPS' ongoing investigations," said the lawyers.
"In these circumstances and having regard to the fact that the remains of the Late President are no longer under our client's care and control, our client is not prepared to accept possession of the Late President's remains."
"To the extent that your clients are persisting with an urgent application, please ensure that you do not request that the remains be returned to our client. We trust that you will advise your clients accordingly."
The development comes after a prolonged legal and family-government standoff that has kept Lungu’s body in a foreign morgue for months.
Yesterday, government, through Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha confirmed to Kalemba that the Pretoria High Court in Pretoria had formally transferred Lungu's mortal remains to the Zambian Government.
Lungu died at a clinic in South Africa on June 5, last year, a development that initially plunged the country into mourning.
However, the burial process later turned into a protracted dispute after the family made a sudden U-turn on plans to return his body to Zambia on June 17, 2025, despite the South African Defence Force having prepared to mount a guard of honour.
The decision disrupted the national mourning period declared by President Hakainde Hichilema and left many Zambians confused.
In the days that followed, the family announced plans to privately bury Lungu in South Africa on June 25, 2025.
However, on June 24, just a day before the planned burial, Kabesha obtained a court order from the Pretoria High Court stopping the burial, arguing that as a former president, Lungu should be buried in Zambia with the dignity and honour befitting his office.
The court agreed and set August 4, 2025 as the hearing date.
In affidavits filed before the court, Lungu’s widow Esther Lungu and other family members said they did not want the body returned to Zambia, claiming that the former president had made peace with dying in “exile” and did not want President Hichilema anywhere near his body.
According to the family, Lungu felt abandoned by government while he was alive.
Government, however, argued that there was no credible evidence showing that Lungu wanted to be buried outside Zambia or that he did not want his successor present at his funeral.
Through court filings, government further maintained that despite political differences, the presidency must be respected and Lungu, like all former heads of state before him deserved a state funeral and burial in Zambia.
On August 8, 2025, a full bench of the Pretoria High Court unanimously ruled that Lungu’s remains should be handed over to the Zambian government for repatriation, a state funeral and burial.
But the Lungu family refused to back down and continued the legal battle.
They challenged the ruling by appealing directly to the Constitutional Court of South Africa, arguing that the Pretoria High Court had erred in its judgment.
However, on August 26, 2025, the Constitutional Court dismissed the appeal, saying the family could not appeal directly to it and referred the matter back to the Pretoria High Court.
Following that, on September 16, 2025, the Pretoria High Court, led by Acting Judge President Audrey Ledwaba dismissed the family’s application for leave to appeal the earlier ruling.
The family then escalated the matter to the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein, which in December granted them leave to appeal against the ruling that ordered the repatriation of Lungu’s body.
However, after failing to file submissions within the set deadlines, the appeal lapsed, paving the way for the Pretoria High to act on the earlier court decision yesterday.
By Catherine P**e
Kalemba, April 23, 2026
