Lusaka – Former Zambian High Commissioner to South Africa, Emmanuel Mwamba, has written a formal letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa demanding answers over what he describes as the desecration of the mortal remains of Zambia’s sixth republican president, Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu.
The letter details a series of events that began on Wednesday, 22 April 2026, when persons identifying themselves as South African Police Sergeant Nompilo Ngwenya of Pretoria and Zambian officials arrived at Two Mountains Funeral Services in Johannesburg, where President Lungu’s body had been held.
The group claimed they were acting on behalf of the Attorney General of Zambia, enforcing a high court order issued in August 2025 by Deputy Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba of the Gauteng High Court, which had ordered the repatriation of Lungu’s remains to Zambia for a state funeral. The group seized the body and removed it from the funeral home without the legal authority, consent or presence of any family member. 
When the Lungu family learned of the removal, their lawyers at Mashele Attorney Inc moved quickly to obtain urgent court protection. On the night of 22 April 2026, Justice Francis Subbiah granted a high court order directing that the body be returned without delay to Two Mountains Burial Services or alternatively to a mortuary nominated by the family, while expressly interdicting the handing over of the body to the South African Police Services. The order also called on relevant parties to show cause why they should not be held in contempt of court.
Despite the order being served on all relevant parties and its receipt being acknowledged, the body was not returned as directed and the court order was disregarded entirely.
It has since emerged that the body was transported to Tshwane Forensic Services in Pretoria, where a post-mortem examination was conducted from 08:30 to 14:00 on Thursday, 23 April 2026. The procedure was led by Shirley Jena Stuart, Chief Specialist and Head of Clinical Department at the Gauteng Department of Health’s Forensic Pathology Services, and was carried out without any family member or their lawyers present.
Zambia’s Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha SC has since issued a public statement claiming the post-mortem was conducted by the South African Police Services and was not done at the instruction of the Zambian Government. Mwamba said this raised serious questions, as the post-mortem was never authorised by the August 2025 Gauteng high court judgment, nor by proceedings at the Randburg Magistrate Court, where a parallel application by the Progressive Forces of South Africa for both an inquest and post-mortem is only due for determination on 29 May 2026.
In his letter to Ramaphosa, Mwamba wrote: “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.”
He said the actions had “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.”
Mwamba, who also served as Zambia’s Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the African Union, called on Ramaphosa to respond to what he described as a serious matter requiring urgent attention.
