Zambia's Economic and Financial Crimes Court has ordered the forfeiture of 79 vehicles and 23 properties belonging to Dalitso Lungu, the son of former President Edgar Lungu, after ruling that the assets were proceeds of crime.

The court found that the Director of Public Prosecutions had successfully established a case for non-conviction forfeiture of the properties under the law.

The ruling follows an application brought under Section 29 of the Forfeiture of Proceeds of Crime Act No. 19 of 2010, seeking the non-conviction forfeiture of Lungu's assets.

The judges opined that, on evidence, they were satisfied on a balance of probabilities that Lungu had a proven proprietary interest, and the scale and pattern of acquisition of the said properties bore no reasonable relationship to their proven lawful income, with no satisfactory explanation offered; as such, the 79 high-value SUVs and trucks, as well as properties including fuel service stations, were of a quality to be proceeds of crime.

In an affidavit filed in opposition, Lungu stated that his wealth was not acquired from proceeds of crime, a position the court did not accept.

Even the claim of the said properties being presents from his late father, Edgar Lungu, when he served as Zambia's 6th president, could not save the situation.