TASILA Lungu and her family are allegedly holding back the body of former president Edgar Lungu until government agrees to drop all criminal charges against them, impeccable sources have whispered to Kalemba.
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But the executive wing of government has put its foot down saying; the executive cannot interfere in the operations of the judiciary resulting in a stalemate.
The sources close to the tense negotiations between the Lungu family and the State have revealed that one of the conditions the former First Family is pushing for, before they can allow for the repatriation of Lungu’s remains for a state funeral, is a blanket dropping of all ongoing court cases involving the family.
At the helm of the Lungu camp is Chawama member of parliament Tasila Lungu, flanked by the family’s legal torchbearers, lawyers Jonas Zimba and family spokesperson Makebi Zulu.
Representing the government in the delicate back and forth discussions is former vice president Enoch Kavindele, former Secretary to the Cabinet Leslie Mbula and current Secretary to the Cabinet Patrick Kangwa.
The demand comes against a backdrop of an avalanche of legal woes that have steadily engulfed nearly every member of the former president’s immediate family.
Tasila, the political face of the family, has been facing investigations over alleged acquisition of properties suspected to be proceeds of crime.
Her mom, former First Lady Esther Lungu and siblings, Chiyeso and Daliso Lungu, have also faced scrutiny over alleged possession of tainted property.
Chiyeso Lungu, a lawyer by profession, lost two properties, including a lucrative plot in State Lodge after the EFCC declared them proceeds of crime.
Her defence, which claimed the assets were gifts from her parents, was tossed out.
Then there’s Esther, the former First Lady, whose name features prominently in several forfeiture proceedings which include, a separate court case in which she is facing charges for theft of three motor vehicles, unlawful possession of US$400,000, and illicit acquisition of land.
On May 31, 2024, she was arrested and briefly detained for money laundering in connection to the 15 flats, before being released on bond.
Meanwhile, Dalitso Lungu, the former president’s son, has been staring down a potential forfeiture of a mind boggling array of assets of over 80 vehicles, 16 properties and an entire company, altogether valued at around K31 million.
The EFCC’s court case against him awaits judgment.
Following former president Lungu’s death in a South African hospital last week, the government declared a seven day national mourning period, expecting the body to arrive mid this week for a state funeral and burial alongside Zambia’s other late heads of state at the presidential burial site.
But the family threw a spanner in the works.
During a memorial service in Pretoria on Tuesday, family spokesperson Makebi Zulu stunned mourners by announcing that the body would not be arriving as scheduled and that a new date would be communicated.
Zulu said the family found it “difficult to engage” with the State on how the former president should be mourned.
He revealed that the family had already arranged for private repatriation of the remains in line with what they say were Lungu’s final wishes, including the wish that President Hakainde Hichilema should not be anywhere near the body.
He accused the government of shifting its position during discussions and undermining the family’s rights to oversee the funeral.
By Catherine Pule
Kalemba, June 13, 2025
