Zambian government takes possession of Lungu's remains amid family dispute

Body removed from Pretoria mortuary after family's appeal lapsed, though family disputes procedural grounds.

The Zambian government has taken possession of former president Edgar Lungu's remains from a Pretoria mortuary, ten months after his death, following the lapse of the family's appeal against repatriation.¹² The removal occurred on Wednesday after the family failed to meet deadlines set by the Supreme Court of Appeal for an expedited timeline, according to Zambian Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha.¹²

Lungu family spokesman Makebi Zulu disputed that the appeals process had lapsed, saying the family followed correct procedure.² The family's lawyers filed an urgent application to the Pretoria High Court on Wednesday night for the body's return to Two Mountains Burial Services or another private mortuary.²⁴ Attorney Eddie Mashele said the body was removed allegedly in violation of a court order requiring two family members and Lungu's doctor to accompany any repatriation.⁴

By Thursday morning, efforts to locate the remains had failed, with Mashele reporting the body was "somewhere in Pretoria".⁴ Judge Rochelle Francis-Subbiah issued a draft order directing South African police, the national police commissioner, the police minister and the Zambian government to return the remains and explain why they should not be held in contempt.⁴ The order stands until 21 May or a date on which respondents must provide reasons.⁴

The dispute stems from a feud between Lungu and his successor, President Hakainde Hichilema.²³ The government maintains Lungu should receive a state funeral and burial in the presidential burial ground in Lusaka.²³ The family sought a private burial after negotiations over funeral arrangements broke down.²³

A Gauteng High Court judgment in August 2025 entitled the government to repatriate the remains for a state funeral and burial.¹ Lungu died of an undisclosed illness on 5 June 2025 at a Pretoria clinic, aged 68.¹²³ He led Zambia from 2015 until 2021, when he lost the election by a wide margin to Hichilema.²³