PRETORIA — The funeral company caught in the escalating legal dispute over former Zambian President Edgar Lungu’s remains has pushed back forcefully, arguing before the Pretoria High Court that the Lungu family created its own legal troubles and should bear the financial consequences.
In court papers submitted ahead of Thursday’s highly anticipated hearing involving the Lungu family and the Zambian government, Two Mountains Burial Services (TMBS) dismissed allegations of contempt, instead accusing the family of withholding critical information, distorting the sequence of events, and unnecessarily deepening the crisis.
TMBS’s intervention adds a dramatic new layer to an already explosive cross-border legal battle, where conflicting court rulings, a failed appeal process, and tensions between the family and the Zambian state have placed the former president’s body at the center of a major regional controversy.
Mortuary Rejects Contempt Allegations
TMBS strongly opposed the family’s claim that it defied a court order by handing Edgar Lungu’s remains to the South African Police Service (SAPS) instead of returning them directly to relatives.
According to the funeral home, its actions were lawful and based on an earlier court ruling that authorized the Zambian government to assume custody of the body. TMBS stated the transfer was carried out legally, under SAPS supervision, and in the presence of a Zambian High Commission representative.
The company argued that when the family later sought urgent legal relief, it failed to disclose the full legal background—including prior rulings and an active police investigation—thereby presenting what TMBS described as an incomplete and misleading narrative to the court.
TMBS also challenged the family’s interpretation of the disputed court order, saying it did not require family members to be physically present when the body was released to authorities. Instead, it maintained that family participation was only necessary during the eventual repatriation process to Zambia, which had not yet begun.
Appeal Collapse at Center of Dispute
A major part of TMBS’s filing focuses on the family’s handling of its Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) case.
Court records indicate the family’s lawyers received three separate warnings on April 21 and 22, 2026, informing them that their appeal had lapsed. Government lawyers reportedly urged them to immediately file for condonation and reinstatement within 24 hours or risk enforcement of the August 8, 2025 court order.
TMBS argued that rather than taking corrective legal steps, the family continued disputing whether the appeal had actually expired—even after the SCA had reportedly made its position clear.
The mortuary said this failure to act decisively was central to the current legal mess.
TMBS Demands Punitive Costs
Beyond defending itself, TMBS is seeking punitive legal costs against the Lungu family, arguing that the urgent ex parte application filed against it was a misuse of court procedures.
The company wants the court to remove it entirely from the April 22 order and award costs at a higher punitive scale, including senior legal fees.
High-Stakes Court Clash Ahead
Thursday’s Pretoria High Court hearing is expected to be pivotal, as the Lungu family and the Zambian government face off over custody of the former president’s remains and the broader legal implications of the dispute.
TMBS’s position is clear: it insists it acted within the law, gave sufficient warning, and should not be punished for what it describes as the family’s legal and procedural failures.
