FORMER First Lady Esther Lungu has told the Pretoria High Court in South Africa that she, together with her sister in law Bertha Lungu and children, Tasila, Dalitso and Chiyeso Lungu no longer wish to return to Zambia and are thinking of changing their immigration status to permanently reside in South Africa.
In an affidavit filed before the Court, Esther disclosed that she, along with her three children and sister in law are seeking continued protection in South Africa because they no longer feel safe or welcome in Zambia.
“At this stage, it is undesirable for any of the First to Sixth Respondents to continue to reside in Zambia on a permanent basis,” reads the document in part.
She added that the family’s continued stay in Zambia is no longer desirable due to what they describe as ongoing oppression and persecution by the current Zambian government.
Esther disclosed that they are only returning to the country for “ad hoc visits” to attend court appearances, which they argue are tied to “vexatious charges” brought against them by the State.
“The Respondents are however attending to
regular ad hoc visits to Zambia in order to appear in Court on the vexatious charges levelled against them by the Applicant until those proceedings have concluded,” she said.
Esther revealed in the court document that Lungu actually fled Zambia in January 2025, not just to seek urgent medical treatment but to also find personal refuge from the “hostile political climate.”
“It is paramount to mention, the late President Lungu travelled to the RSA in order to seek immediate and urgent medical treatment and to find personal refuge from the hostile political climate in Zambia,” she stated.
She added that it became abundantly clear to her late husband that he could never return to his homeland, as he would not be able to receive proper medical care in Zambia due to what they describe as interference from the authorities.
The former first lady revealed that she accompanied the former president on that trip, alongside the family spokesperson Makebi Zulu and other family members arriving at O.R. Tambo International Airport as ordinary passengers without any reception from Zambian officials.
She told the court that Lungu realised, soon after arriving in South Africa, that he would never be able to return to Zambia due to what she described as interference from authorities, including in his access to healthcare.
The widow revealed that after they arrived in South Africa, the former president was diagnosed with terminal cancer of the oesophagus.
According to Esther, doctors told the family that had he received treatment, earlier in 2023 or early 2024, the tumour could likely have been removed.
But by the time of his diagnosis in South Africa, the condition had advanced too far, leaving only palliative care as an option.
In her affidavit, Esther said she and her late husband had discussed at length the need to regularise their stay in South Africa, given the “oppressive behavior” of the Zambian government.
She said the former president became consistent in expressing his wish never to be buried with any state involvement from Zambia.
Esther recounted that her husband explicitly said President Hakainde Hichilema should have “nothing to do with his funeral or body” and had repeated that wish to their lawyer Makebi Zulu, their children and Zambian historian Dr Sishuwa Sishuwa, who visited him in May 2025 for an academic interview.
According to Esther, her husband found it “immoral and disrespectful” for a perceived enemy to preside over a person’s burial after subjecting them to mistreatment in life.
She said the former president had specifically referred to the funeral of late opposition leader Edith Nawakwi, where he felt President Hichilema acted “hypocritically.”
Esther told the court that her last conversation with her husband was on June 3, 2025 just before he was sedated and placed on a ventilator.
She described it as a painful farewell in which the former president again reiterated that the current Zambian leadership should be kept away from his burial.
The affidavit also referenced the former president’s final public appearance in May 2025 when photos of his meeting with Dr. Sishuwa were posted on social media and widely circulated in Zambia.
The images, which are included in the more than 100 page court filings, were the first public confirmation of his presence in South Africa since January.
This is in a matter where Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha has filed a lawsuit seeking to have Lungu’s body repatriated to Zambia for a State funeral and burial.
By Catherine Pule
Kalemba, July 12, 2025
