Former Zambian Ambassador to South Africa Emmanuel Mwamba has written to the South African president protesting what he describes as the desecration of former President Edgar Lungu’s remains, nearly 11 months after his death, as his body remains in a South African mortuary amid an ongoing dispute between the Zambian government and Lungu’s family over who decides where, how, and when he is buried.
Full Letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa by former Zambian ambassador to South Africa, Emmanuel Mwamba
Your Excellency,
SUBJECT; DESECRATION OF THE MORTAL REMAINS OF ZAMBIA’S SIXTH REPUBLICAN PRESIDENT, DR. EDGAR CHAGWA LUNGU
I am Emmanuel Mwamba. I have been privileged to have served as Zambia’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Zambia’s Ambassador to Ethiopia, and Permanent Representative to the African Union (AU).
Your Excellency, I wish to bring serious concerns regarding issues surrounding the mortal remains of Zambia’s Sixth Republican President, Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu, a legal dispute your government, the judiciary, the Zambian Government, and the family have been grappling with.
Of concerns however, are events that occurred on Wednesday, April 22nd, 2026, where the remains of the former President were collected from Two Mountains Funeral Services in Johannesburg by persons introducing themselves as Zambian officials and.
The removal of the remains of President Edgar Lungu was done without any legal authority, or consent, or presence of the family.
The details are that on Wednesday, 22 April 2026, persons identifying themselves as South African Police Sgt Nompilo Ngwenya of Pretoria and Zambian officials arrived at Two Mountains Funeral Services in Johannesburg, where the President’s body has been held.
They group claimed that the Attorney General of the Republic of Zambia was enforcing a high court order issued in August 2025 by Deputy Judge President, Aubrey Ledwaba of the Gauteng High Court which ordered the repatriation of President Lungu’s mortal remains to Zambia in order for the Government to conduct a state funeral, as the family’s appeal had alleged lapsed.
The group seized the body, removed it from Two Mountains, and transported it away.
When the family learnt of these serious development, and recognizing that there was a valid appeal in the Supreme Court of Appeal and the parallel application by the Progressive Forces of South Africa (PFSA) in the Randburg Magistrate Court for both inquest and postmortem, is only coming up for determination on 29th May 2026, sought urgent help from their lawyer
The family lawyers, Mashele Attorney Inc immediately sought court protection and managed to secure a high court order on the night of 22 April 2026, when the Honourable Justice Francis Subbiah granted a further Court Order directing, inter alia, that the body of the late President, Edgar Lungu be returned without any delay to the custody of Two Mountains Burial Services (Pty) Ltd or alternatively to a mortuary nominated by the family expressly interdicting the handing over of the body to SAPS, and calling upon the relevant parties to show why they should not be held in contempt of court.
Despite the previously mentioned Order being duly served on all relevant parties, and notwithstanding that receipt of such an Order was acknowledged, the body of the late President was not taken back as ordered and the court order was with impunity, totally disregarded.
Facts have since emerged that show that the body was transported from Two Mountains to Tshwane Forensic Services in Pretoria where a post-mortem examination, without any legal basis or family presence, was conducted from 08:30 to 14:00 on Thursday, 23 April 2026, led by a person identified as MS Shirley Jena Stuart, Chief Specialist, Head of Clinical Department at Gauteng Department of Health, Forensic Pathology Services.
In this regard, the Attorney General of Zambia, Mr. Mulilo Kabesha SC, has since issued a public statement claiming that the illegal postmortem was conducted by the South African Police Services and was not done at the behest or instructions of the Zambian Government
This raises a serious matter as the postmortem procedure was never authorized by the 25 August 2025 Gauteng high court judgement, or by the proceedings of the Randburg Magistrate Court, and was not authorized or witnessed by any family member of the Lungu family, or their lawyers.
These actions have violated the rights of President Edgar Lungu, violently offended our culture, disregarded the wishes of the Lungu family, abused the legal process, desecrated the remains of the late President, and has raised serious tensions between our people in Zambia and the Government of South Africa.
Your Excellency, I and many Zambians are demanding answers why the remains of the late President have been violated and desecrated in this manner by individuals acting in the name of your government.
Your response to this serious matter will be appreciated.
Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba
Former Zambia’s High Commissioner to South Africa
Former Ambassador to Ethiopia
Former Permanent Representative to the African Union.
Useless propagandist, the Zambians want the body of the former president to be brought to Zambian, period! If you served in whatever portfolios, I don’t care, you’re not special, at this point you’re useless because you’ve vested, simpliy put, political interest in the former president’s body for your political survival
President Ramaphosa is the commander-in-chief of the South African Police Service. They couldn’t have done what they did to the body of a dead former president of another country without his knowledge. Amazing to see how some want to tell an agency of the South African state how it should operate in South Africa.
