Zambia’s long‑running dispute over the burial of former president Edgar Lungu has taken a new turn, with his family dismissing fresh allegations that he may have been poisoned.
Lawyers for the Lungu family said five of the former president’s relatives have been questioned by South African police as part of a criminal probe into the alleged poisoning.
“Our office has complied with five subpoenas issued in connection with the criminal investigation concerning the alleged poisoning of the late former President Edgar Lungu,” Mashele Attorneys Inc. said in a letter to the police.
They insisted that the claims – which ironically stem from a public remark made by one of Lungu’s daughters last year – were “unfounded and unsupported by credible evidence.”
The claims, now the subject of a South African police investigation, come despite the family itself previously raising concerns about possible foul play.
Lungu died in June last year at a clinic in Pretoria, aged 68, and his remains have remained in a South African morgue ever since.
His death has triggered a protracted legal standoff between his family – which insists he should be buried privately in South Africa – and the Zambian government, which wants his body repatriated for a state funeral.
A South African court ruled in the Zambian government’s favour in August but the family has appealed.
The funeral home storing Lungu’s remains has reportedly been placed under 24‑hour security, with lawyers warning police not to violate existing High Court orders that grant custody of the body to the facility until legal proceedings conclude.
Lungu’s widow has remained in South Africa to lead the family’s legal efforts and last week filed a notice at the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein seeking to overturn the earlier ruling ordering repatriation.
JN/APA