Drama over former Zambian president’s body as court orders its return:
The family of former Zambian president Edgar Chagwu Lungu has launched an urgent court bid in Pretoria after his body was taken from a mortuary without their permission by the South African Police Service (SAPS) and Zambian authorities.
Esther Lungu, the wife of the former president, lodged an urgent application in the high court in Pretoria on Wednesday, seeking an order for her husband’s body to be returned to the mortuary from which it was taken.
In the application, Lungu cites six respondents, including the SAPS, the national police commissioner, the minister of police, the Zambian government, Two Mountains Burial Services and the minister of international relations and cooperation. She is asking the court to compel them to return the remains of the late statesman.
In a draft order, Judge Rochelle Francis-Subbiah ruled that the first, second, third and fourth respondents take steps to ensure that the body of Lungu is returned to the premises and custody of Two Mountains Burial Services or any mortuary nominated by the family.
Furthermore, Francis-Subbiah stated that all respondents must provide reasons why they should not be convicted for contempt of court. The order, effective until 21 May or any anticipated date, on which the respondent shall explain why the order should not be made final.
On Wednesday, the family said they were stunned after the corpse of the sixth president of Zambia was allegedly removed without permission or a court order on 22 April.
Family lawyer Makebi Zulu said the family were informed that SAPS and Zambian agents went to the mortuary, demanding the body. “There was no court order for this to happen and an appeal had already lapsed,” he said.
Lungu died in South Africa in June 2025 after a short illness. He was 68. His body was being kept in a secret location after a stand-off between his family, who wanted him buried in South Africa, and the Zambian government, led by President Hakainde Hichilema, who wanted a state funeral.
In 2025, a Pretoria court ordered the president’s remains to be repatriated to Zambia. But the body remained in the country.
The Zambian government wants Lungu buried at Embassy Park, along Independence Avenue opposite the Cabinet Office, the final resting place for Zambia’s deceased presidents. It was made a national monument in 2009.
In accordance with his wishes, his family wanted Lungu to have a private burial in South Africa. Colonel Athlenda Mathe, the spokesperson for the SAPS, said she was unaware of the incident but “will check”.
The department of international relations and cooperation was unavailable at the time of publication.
© Higher Education Media Services – www.ednews.africa
Malawi anti-corruption chief accused of using case files to pressure MPs:
The acting head of Malawi’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) allegedly used confidential corruption case files involving senior opposition politicians as leverage to pressurise the parliamentary committee examining his conduct.
The allegation is contained in a formal, seven-page complaint filed on 22 April by Steven Baba Malondera Kamsiyamo, the chair of parliament’s public accounts committee (PAC), addressed directly to the official he accuses.
The complaint describes a sustained effort by Gabriel Chembezi, the acting director-general of the ACB to secure his “clearance” from the PAC.
The committee had been investigating a pension fund’s acquisition of a hotel at a price that independent valuers said was several times above market value. Chembezi has not publicly responded to the allegations, which remain untested in court.
Read alongside separate questions raised about his alleged personal involvement in the same transaction his bureau was mandated to investigate, the complaint raises urgent questions about the integrity of Malawi’s anti-corruption framework.
The controversy originates with the Public Service Pension Trust Fund (PSPTF), Malawi’s third-largest pension fund, which administers retirement savings for teachers, nurses, police officers and other civil servants.
In November 2025, the fund purchased the Amaryllis Hotel in Blantyre, Malawi’s commercial capital, for about $ 74.4 million. The price immediately drew scrutiny. Property consultants Knight Frank had valued the hotel at about $ 27.2 million in 2023. A separate valuation commissioned through FDH Bank placed it at roughly $ 17.3 million.
Continental Asset Management, engaged by the fund itself in 2024, valued the property at about $ 21.2 million and warned that the investment would take 36 years to recover at the proposed price.
Malawi’s central bank subsequently ordered the fund to rescind the purchase, finding the board had “proceeded with the transaction before the direction was varied or removed,” in breach of prudential investment limits.
The deal’s origins are contested. Minutes from a January 2024 board meeting, in which trustees resolved not to purchase the hotel, have since gone missing. A newly constituted board revived and approved the deal in late 2025.
Civil society organisations condemned the transaction as “systemic plunder” of public servants’ retirement savings. Parliament opened a PAC inquiry on 10 March.
According to Malondera’s complaint, the ACB chief made contact the same day. At 6:03 pm on 10 March, Chembezi sent Malondera a WhatsApp message saying he had obtained the MP’s number from a cousin.
A phone call followed and the two men met that evening at Africa House in Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital. Malondera wrote that Chembezi discussed the Amaryllis controversy and complained that members of the Malawi Law Society were “victimising” him and attempting to block his confirmation as ACB Director General.
He then asked to be “cleared” by the parliamentary committee so that his appointment could proceed. Malondera said he was “stunned” and offered no commitment.
The contacts allegedly continued. On 12 March, shortly before appearing before the PAC inquiry, Chembezi called again and asked Malondera to guarantee he would be “protected” during his testimony. Malondera refused, telling him the request was “inappropriate and impossible.”
Two days later, Chembezi allegedly arrived unannounced at Malondera’s home and accompanied him in his car as he prepared to travel to Salima, a town roughly 100 kilometres from the capital.
During the journey, Malondera wrote, Chembezi insisted that “people want to finish” him and asked what Malondera would require “to help you.” Malondera again refused, stating he served only as a neutral referee in the inquiry.
During the same exchange, Malondera challenged Chembezi over reports that he had gone to the pension fund’s offices to present a sale agreement while serving as acting ACB director general. Chembezi reportedly characterised the visit as part of a “handover” meeting.
Malondera subsequently reported these encounters to Malawi’s inspector-general of police. The complaint’s most serious allegations centre on a meeting on 30 March 2026, after the PAC had already adopted its report.
At 6:24 pm, Chembezi allegedly arrived at Malondera’s home driving a black Mercedes Benz carrying no registration plates and invited him to sit inside the vehicle. Inside the car, Malondera wrote, Chembezi said he had recently met the president and that the president was awaiting the PAC’s report. He again pressed for a “clearance.”
When Malondera declined, the tone of the meeting changed. Chembezi first produced a document claiming Malondera had misused about $ 636 000 during rehabilitation works at Mzuzu Airport while serving as deputy minister.
Malondera rejected the allegation, saying the project predated his tenure. Chembezi then allegedly produced several active corruption case files. One involved opposition politician Eisenhower Mkaka.
According to the complaint, Chembezi noted that the unregistered vehicle he had arrived in had previously been returned to the ACB by former presidential aide Prince Kapondamgaga, whom he alleged was connected to the same source as a vehicle linked to Mkaka.
He reportedly suggested that if Malondera helped “clear” him, he could “help” Mkaka in return. A second docket concerned Bester Awali, a sitting PAC member, relating to alleged campaign-related maize distribution.
Chembezi also allegedly named Simplex Chithyola, the leader of the opposition and former minister of finance, asserting he had a “strong case” involving alleged abuse of the Greenbelt Initiative, a government-run irrigation programme.
Chembezi added, according to the complaint, that he had served on the Greenbelt Board during a previous administration and could “assist to clear” individuals implicated there as a gesture of goodwill toward the ruling Malawi Congress Party, which had appointed him.
He also allegedly offered to refuel Malondera’s vehicle using an ACB fuel card. Malondera declined. Malondera stated in the complaint that the dockets were being wielded as leverage, “to procure me to abuse my role to clear you in the inquiry.”
Separate information placed before the parliamentary committee raised additional questions about Chembezi’s position in the underlying transaction.
The Malawi Law Society informed the PAC that it had declined to provide documents to the ACB after receiving information indicating that Chembezi was “representing the seller in the very transaction the Bureau was purportedly investigating.”
The society called on him to “immediately declare his interest in this matter and recuse himself from all further proceedings related to the impugned sale.”
The ACB did not respond, the society reported. State broadcaster MBC separately reported that “Chembezi through his law firm facilitated the purchase of Amaryllis Hotel by Yusuf Investment.”
Yusuf Investment Limited is the company that sold the hotel to the pension fund. Chembezi’s original appointment as acting ACB director general had itself been disputed.
The society questioned its legality in November 2025, arguing the post required a “vigorous vetting process.” Legal experts cited in earlier reporting described the appointment as “irregular and illegal.”
In the concluding section of his complaint, Malondera addressed its recipient directly: “I find myself in the awkward position of reporting your patently corrupt conduct to you, the very person implicated. Your conflict of interest is obvious.”
He copied the document to the president, the justice ministry, the inspector general of police, the speaker of parliament, the attorney general, the director of public prosecutions and the Malawi Law Society. None had issued a public response at the time of writing.
The PSPTF administers retirement savings for thousands of Malawi’s public servants. Regulators have warned that the Amaryllis purchase created “serious liquidity mismatch and heightened concentration risk” for the fund.
Parliament’s public accounts committee withdrew its Amaryllis report on 7 April, extending the inquiry by one month. The pension fund’s controversial acquisition and its projected 36-year payback period, remains unresolved.
This article was made possible by a partnership with the Centre for Investigative Journalism Malawi
A few things right and a few wrong about the Tata Curvv:
Tata relaunched in South Africa with a variety of vehicles last year, ranging from entry-level all the way to premium-like SUVs.
The Curvv, which sits just below the flagship Harrier, is a coupé-styled SUV that looks elegant from the outside. It has a curved shape and a glossy contrast grille that brings the vehicle together well.
The added cladding makes the wheels look bigger than they are which complements the entire look of the vehicle. The lightbar across the back is in tune with the styling.
From an exterior point of view, it’s a superb-looking vehicle and it’s difficult to recognise that it’s a Tata. But it is refreshing.
The style continues on the inside. Tata has integrated a 10.25 inch touchscreen that has wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, comfortable leather seats, a lovely sunroof, ambient lighting and a nine-speaker JBL sound system. All this makes for a stunning cabin feel and look.
That is until you start touching things. The gear shifter is a problem — it feels flimsy and seemingly ready to fall off.
That led me to investigate the build quality of the vehicle. Everywhere I touched, I got that similar flimsy feeling.
Then there’s also the practical aspect of it. I’m a big fan of Chiller Tuesday at Krispy Kreme but I couldn’t find a place to put my cups. Normally, the cupholders are somewhere in the centre console but with the Curvv, I had to search for them.
Finally, I found them hidden in the cubbyhole. Too creative from Tata or really impractical? I don’t know but what I do know is that it’s not ideal for when I’m driving solo and I want to enjoy my chiller.
I could look past those things though, because, ultimately, the cabin is comfortable and spacious. Tons of headroom and legroom means passengers in the back seats have no issues. With bootspace of 500 litres, the Curvv does have some practical elements.
The build quality continued to rub me the wrong way, however.
But when it came to driving, I enjoyed it. The curved shape makes the vehicle agile on the road.
The Tata Curvv is no slouch. It is powered by a 1.2-litre Revotron engine that benefits from turbocharging to boast 88kW at 5 500rpm and 170Nm from 1 750rpm, paired with either a six-speed manual transmission or seven-speed DCA that transfers power to the front wheels.
It provides a smooth and consistent drive that I can’t complain about. On the highway, there was no sluggish driving.
The steering wheel is light and easy to manoeuvre and although the Tata badge lighting up on the steering is a cool feature, I’m not a fan of how bulky it makes the steering wheel look. It also makes the plastic stick out which can feel uncomfortable on the fingers at times.
In terms of safety, the Tata Curvv has an array of advanced systems, including ABS with EBD and ESP, as well as six airbags across the range. A 360-degree Surround View Camera takes the hassle out of parking. The Curvv has been tested and certified with a five-star Bharat NCAP rating, the NCAP assessment for India.
Pricing and verdict
The Tata Curvv is available in three variants: 1.2T Pure MT+ priced at R349 900, 1.2T Creative DCA priced at R419 900 and 1.2T Accomplished S DCA priced at R519 900.
At R519 900, it’s difficult to argue for the Curvv when other vehicles are available in the price range. However, the R419 900 price tag on the lower-spec variant is hard to argue against because of the size, space and comfort the vehicle offers.
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