By Enyichukwu Enemanna
A fugitive Zambian lawmaker wanted for aggravated robbery relating to the theft of property worth 12,000 kwacha ($430; £340) in 2015 has been arrested in Zimbabwe.
Emmanuel “Jay Jay” Banda, who has a bounty on his head is accused of escaping from custody in August as he awaited to appear in court.
He is said to have escaped through a window at Chipata Central Hospital in Eastern Province where he had been admitted following his arrest and was being guarded by police and prison officers.
The police then issued a bounty of 2m Zambian kwacha ($72,000; £57,000) for him.
At a press conference on Wednesday, the Zambian minister for home affairs, Jack Mwiimbu announced that the MP was arrested earlier this week at a flat in Harare where he would remain pending when his extradition plans are perfected.
He said the government was keen to know who had facilitated the MP’s escape as well as visits by his wife to Harare, thanking the Zimbabwean authorities for their co-operation.
The opposition Patriotic Front (PF) party, led by former President Edgar Lungu, condemned what he called an “emerging and worrying scenario”.
Banda, who has been an independent MP since 2021, was previously associated with Lungu, who lost the presidency to Hakainde Hichilema that year.
The PF spokesman, Emmanuel Mwamba, said what was happening was “an abduction” adding that the government should follow “internationally prescribed extradition protocols”.
In May this year, Banda had been reported missing under controversial circumstances. He resurfaced a day later, saying that he had been abducted.
The home affairs ministry however denied the state’s involvement in the matter.
On social media there had been speculation that the abduction was staged, which was denied by Banda’s family.
At least three opposition politicians and a civil rights activists were arrested following the case.
Two of those who were arrested – Edith Nawakwi, leader of the opposition Forum for Development and Democracy party, and civil rights activist Brebner Changala – accused the government of being behind the abductions.
BBC quoted Mwamba as saying that the charges were “politically motivated”.
“Hon Jay Jay Banda is one of those members of parliament who are close to the former president, who this government is pursuing relentlessly”.
He said the case was from a decade ago and had been processed in court before, adding that the charges were meant to keep him from telling the truth about the abduction.
He said that at the time of his alleged escape, he had been admitted to hospital, because of a medical condition following his abduction.
