South Africa’s courts issued conflicting directives within hours on Wednesday over the custody of former President Edgar Chagwa Lungu’s remains, first transferring control to the Zambian Government before an urgent intervention halted the move and ordered the body returned to a funeral facility.
The Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria earlier confirmed that the remains had been handed to the Zambian authorities, acting on an August 8, 2025 ruling that authorised the Government to take custody for repatriation and burial. Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha said the transfer followed the family’s failure to proceed with its case before the Supreme Court of Appeal, with the remains moved from Two Mountains Burial Services to a South African Government facility.
Within hours, the legal position shifted.
A subsequent urgent application brought by members of the Lungu family prompted intervention by the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa, which ordered an immediate halt to any further movement of the remains and directed that the body be returned to Two Mountains Funeral Parlour.
Family spokesperson Makebi Zulu confirmed the ruling, stating that the court had granted a stay and instructed both governments to reverse actions already taken.
“The Supreme Court has just given us a stay. The Government of Zambia and the Government of South Africa have been ordered to take back the body to Two Mountains Funeral Parlour,” Zulu said.
Court documents dated April 22, 2026, show that the matter was brought as an urgent ex parte application involving multiple members of the Lungu family, including Esther Lungu, Bertha Lungu, and Tasila Lungu, alongside other applicants. Respondents listed include the South African Police Service, the National Commissioner of Police, the Minister of Police, and the Government of the Republic of Zambia.
The order directs authorities to ensure that the remains of the late former President are returned to the custody of Two Mountains Burial Services or another mortuary nominated by the applicants without delay. It also restrains respondents from handing over the body to the Zambian Government pending further proceedings.
In a further escalation, the court has ordered the respondents to appear and show cause why they should not be cited for contempt of court, a step that signals the seriousness with which the judiciary is treating compliance with its directives.
“Further, there is an order for them to show cause as to why they should not be cited for contempt,” Zulu said.
The legal clash follows the Zambian Government’s attempt to enforce the earlier High Court ruling by taking possession of the remains on the same day. According to reporting by SABC News, the intervention by the appellate court came at the last moment, effectively suspending the transfer and reversing the movement already initiated.
Lungu, Zambia’s sixth President, died in South Africa on June 5, 2025, and has not yet been buried due to a prolonged dispute between his family and the Government over funeral arrangements. The latest court action deepens the legal complexity surrounding the case, placing the remains back under contested custody and pausing any immediate repatriation.
The orders issued on Wednesday will remain in force until May 21, 2026, or an earlier date determined by the court, at which point the respondents are expected to return to court to address the contempt proceedings and the final determination of the matter.
Witches! Only witches would toss a corpse this way and that. A body that doesn’t even belong to you sure!! You just want to toy around with it? We buloshi weee!
“….. acting on an August 8, 2025 ruling that authorised the Government to take custody for repatriation and burial…….”
So , there was a ruling………
Now readers can read into this case better…….
Not the other reporting you done and some guy wanting to argue about missing simple but crucial info in reporting………
I’m sure GRZ would rather have the burial after the elections,……….
The saga continues
We are here
FWD2041
Hh will never see that body. We know he was told he needs ecl body for rituals to win next election. That is why he is so desperate. No body no presidency kkkk
Nkhumanya nadi kuti muli na mtima wa libwe.
You are the same people who were misleading ba Lungu.How did he find himself surrounded by idiots like you Zulu?It will never happen again home boy,eat your money wisely.
Clown!
Hamusonda go and eat your mother’s buttocks
Maybe if Kabesha had a child would have known the issues he is bringing to ECL’s children. This is if you look at the photo on the right would tell you ati ichichena chiloshi. Kwati chelesuba Ambi elyo kumenso kwapya. Nabanakashi chenda nabo tebatuntulu.
In USA but still VERY dull!Any funeral of a former Republican President, including Edgar Chagwa Lungu, is a State function, not a private family affair.Therefore, access and protocol at such an event are guided by State procedures, not by personal feelings or bitterness from any widow or relative.The same Lungu fought the Kaunda family to bury their father in Lusaka.What has changed now?Common sense should be used
This is very suspicious and embarrassing at the same time!!!…if the GRZ are genuinely contesting ECL’s burial in RSA, then why employ underhand methods of retrieving the remains of ECL????????? Kabesha you owe us an explanation with your boss!!!
We have cruel, Satanist and heartless leaders, what a pity!
The world is watching this so called friendly christian nation
The quicker people realise the real cause of this nonsense the quicker closure will be
No not Christian nation.
Voodoo Nation.
Anywhere in the world regardless of the status of the deceased in life, whether a former President or not, the final authourity of any funeral and burial is his immediate family. It is as simple and as basic as it can be. The state only comes in to provide logistical support. And infact in Zambia there is no constitutional provision that gives the state powers.
One chap even misled himself, that there is precedent, what Precedent, Precedent is not law. ECLs family has always wanted to bury in Zambia from day one but the state continues to delay the process because one man is insisting on imposing his presence. Please step aside, we burry, we want to move on
Which law or constitutional provision provides for the family to have rights over a corpse over GRZ ????
We await that clause
FWD2041
If I recall correctly, the same Lungu took KK’s family to court regarding his burial until the late Kaweche conceded. What is different now that it is Lungu’s turn?Protocol should be observed and the government will bury Lungu the rest is just noise
Mundubile should make this a priority and should come and sort it out in his first week in office
We have a very powerful team. The body is never coming back
You keep saying ‘we have a very powerful team’ as if you’re auditioning for a low-budget mafia movie. Serious people talk about law and institutions. Insecure people talk about ‘powerful teams.
KZ, hallucinations at best!
Did you know that a powerful team can include lawyers on a team too? You chi dog. Go and jump in front of a truck.
Nkhukayika nthena.
HH & Kabesha, you are fighting losing battle.Funerals are family issues NOT Govt.13th August,2026 is coming.
Chagwa decided to be the president of Zambia.He is not a common man therefore his funeral is decided by the state just like all the former presidents.Get that to your head
On this turn of events…….wait GRZ response……
On a personal note……..Every Zambian should advice their relatives against running for president if they don’t want their relative buried at embassy park where all other presidents are buried…..
If you support them to be president , they will be buried at embassy park , like it or not…….
You go on to enjoy the life that the presidency brings , even getting rich beyond your wildest dreams on tax payers money……….
Then you want to desecrate state protocols when it comes to burial because you stole money ???
FWD2041
i stand to be corrected but there is no law supporting what you are saying. This is unconstitutional to say all presidents to be buried at Emb Park. So one is forcing something that is unlawful and the other party is acting lawfully,so much so that even SA gives right to family its upto family to agree to embassy park or the farm or where ever they legally and rightfully want…
Law
No one wants to tell us which law or part of the constitution says the family has burial rights above GRZ regarding the body of a family member……..
FWD2041
which law are you using,i would like to make reference to it. or are you using precedence also
Only falsehoods and additional falsehoods. The remains are currently with the South African government and the Zambian government, nearly prepared for repatriation to Zambia following medical examinations. There is no such order present here in South Africa.Its just lies
Mulomo too much in Zambia…lets put ECL to rest. If ECL gave ba KK a state funeral, will also give him a state funeral. Those personnel issues you have keep them to yourselves. Let the man rest…
KK case is not exactly the same as ECL. In KK the contention was that per his wishes he wanted to be buried next to his wife and not at Embassy Park. The state even bent backwards to suggest that KK could be buried at EP and then be exhumed later to meet his desire. Then the bells broke loss the court ruled that the burial of a former Presido is not an event but a process. Once that process is set in motion it should go to its logical conclusion. In ECL the family has/did not refuse a state funeral they merely sought to meet his wish that certain persons be excluded from the process. Well now they have the body they have confirmed he passed can he buried home?
People with good brains have the capacity to find SOLUTIONS to problems they face. ECL’s burial problem exposes our level of thinking as Zambians, leadership leading the pack!!!