18/02/2026
Daughter wants Magande’s body exhumed
NAMWEEMBA Magande, daughter of late former Minister of Finance and National Planning Ng’andu Magande, is ready to have the remains of her father exhumed so that a paternity test can be conducted.
Namweeba, 38, has submitted in the Lusaka High Court that a DNA test will help ascertain whether Mr Magande was indeed her father or not.
“The plaintiff will aver that there be an order to exhume the remains of the late for purposes of collecting samples to carry out a DNA test with the plaintiff’s DNA samples,” the court documents read in part.
This in a 2025 case in which Namweemba, who was born out of wedlock, sued three administrators of her father’s estate.
She wants the court to order that Mr Magande’s estate be distributed fairly so that she can also benefit from her father’s properties.
Namweemba is unhappy that the administrators have not given an account of her father’s inventory of his assets
She wants the court to grant her an order compelling the administrators and administratrix of the estate to render an account for the full inventory of Mr Magande’s assets.
The complainant also seeks an order compelling the administrators to distribute her father’s estate to the rightful beneficiaries, including herself.
Those sued are Simwaale Magande, an administrator of the estate, while Joyce Mudenda and Nakanjoli Magande, the co-administrators, are second and third defendants respectively.
However, the defendants questioned Namweemba’s paternity and her interest as beneficiary of Mr Magande’s estate.
But the latest court documents show that Namweemba is ready to undergo a DNA test.
“The plaintiff will aver that she is ready to undergo a DNA test provided the same is done with samples of DNA collected from the remains of the deceased,” the documents further state.
And her witness, Sakubita Singongolo, has submitted that Namweemba is his late sister’s daughter and that Dr Magande was her father.
“In 2012, my late sister intimated to me that the father of Namweemba was the late Ng’andu Magande.
“She further informed me that the late Magande was charged for getting her pregnant and that the money was paid to her mother,” Mr Singongolo has submitted.
He says Namweemba was raised in Livingstone by her mother, Ruth Sitali, but never visited her late father’s home because the deceased was unsure of how she would be treated by his wife and children.
