The family of the late sixth Republican President Edgar Chagwa Lungu has accused the UPND Government and the South African Police Service of gross misconduct, alleging that an illegal postmortem was carried out on the former Head of State without their consent and in defiance of a valid court order.
Family spokesperson Makebi Zulu says the family has now taken back the remains of the late President after what he described as a “24-hour disregard of the High Court in Pretoria,” which had ordered the immediate return of the body to Two Mountains Funeral Services.
Zulu said although many Zambians had advised the family to leave the body in the hands of the State as a protest against what they consider desecration, the family could not abandon their loved one under any circumstances.
According to the family, South African police, working with Zambian officials, collected the late President’s remains from the Johannesburg funeral home on 22 April 2026, claiming to be enforcing a lapsed order issued on 25 August 2025 authorising repatriation. The family says this was done without the presence of any relative and without any legal mandate permitting a postmortem.
The body was then transported to Tshwane Forensic Pathology Service, where it was logged under entry number 0632/26. Records show that a Sergeant Ngwenya, alongside a Zambian diplomat, surrendered the body and opened Postmortem Docket FPS 002/SAP 180. The family alleges that Sgt. Ngwenya falsely claimed that a family member had reported “suspected poisoning,” something they insist never happened.
After learning of the developments, the family’s legal team rushed to the Pretoria High Court, which between 22:00 and 23:00 hours issued an order compelling authorities to return the body immediately and to show cause why they should not be cited for contempt. But despite this, the family says the postmortem was carried out the following morning by Dr. Shirley Jena-Stuart, from 08:30 to 14:00 on 23 April 2026.
They say the facility only released the body around 21:40 after senior police officials intervened.
The family has outlined several irregularities they believe demand urgent accountability, including:
Conducting a postmortem not authorised by any court order
Removing the body from Two Mountains Funeral Services without any family member present
Handing the body to Tshwane Forensic Pathology Service without family identification
False statements alleging a poisoning report from a family member
Defying a live court order that blocked any further procedures
Zulu said these actions amount to “a grave abuse of power and a desecration of the late President’s dignity,” adding that the family would pursue all legal avenues, including contempt proceedings, against those involved.
The family is also urging the Zambian public and the international community to take interest in what they describe as an unprecedented violation of due process and international norms.
JUST TO UNLOCK YOUR MIND
After the govt took over the body, riding on the High Court rulling in August 2025 (since the SupremeCourtofAppeal ruled that the family missed the deadline to prosecute the case), The South African police withheld the body to do DNA as part of its investigations over the allegations that the former president was poisoned. The police did not a "hospital or clinical normal postmortem" but a forensic autopsy.
Brief Legal Facts on Forensic Autopsies
Family consent is not required for a forensic (medico-legal) autopsy in Zambia, South Africa, or most jurisdictions worldwide.
The moment a death is sudden, unexplained, suspicious, or of public interest, the body becomes part of a legal investigation, not just a family matter.
Laws such as the Inquests Act (Zambia & South Africa) and Forensic Pathology Service Regulations (South Africa) give the State authority to order an autopsy without approval from relatives.
This safeguard prevents families or anyone else-from blocking investigations into possible crime, negligence, or public-safety threats.
A forensic autopsy is scientific and evidence-driven, not spiritual; it protects justice, public health, and accountability.
For public figures like former presidents, the legal obligation is even stronger because unclear causes of death can fuel misinformation and erode public trust.
Summarised from insights by Lt Col (Rtd) Dr. Chomba Chama, Consultant Pathologist and Director of Healit Diagnostic Laboratory.
[Brave Heart News | UnlockingMinds]
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