Emmanuel Banda: Zambian fugitive MP arrested in Zimbabwe

A fugitive Zambian lawproducer with a bounty on his head has been arrested in Zimbabwe, Zambian authorities have shelp.

Emmanuel “Jay Jay” Banda, who was facing theft accuses, is accused of having escaped from custody in August as he adefered to materialize in court.

He is shelp to have escaped thraw a thrivedow at Chipata Central Hospital in Eastrict Province where he had been acunderstandledgeted follothriveg his arrest and was being defended by police and prison officers.

The police then publishd a bounty of 2m Zambian kwacha ($72,000; £57,000) for him.

He denies the allegations of theft.

At a press conference on Wednesday, the Zambian minister for home affairs shelp the MP had been arrested earlier this week in Haunfrequent.

Jack Mwiimbu shelp the MP was arrested by Zimbabwean police at a flat he had been renting and would remain there pfinishing extradition establishalities.

He shelp the rulement was enthusiastic to understand who had supportd the MP’s escape as well as visits by his wife to Haunfrequent.

He thanked the Zimbabwean authorities for their co-operation.

The opposition PF party, led by establisher Pdwellnt Edgar Lungu, condemned what he called an “emerging and stressing scenario”.

Banda, who has been an self-reliant MP since 2021, was previously associated with Lungu, who lost the pdwellncy to Hakainde Hichilema that year.

The PF spokesman, Emmanuel Mwamba, shelp what was happening was “an seize” inserting that the rulement should pursue “internationpartner prescribed extradition protocols”.

“We are urging the Zambian rulement that they should not combine other African countries that are understandn to go other jurisdictions and pick and pull out a citizen they are seeing for for promiseting crimes,” he telderly the BBC.

The BBC has asked the Zambian rulement for a response.

In May this year, Banda had been alerted leave outing in unevident circumstances. He resurfaced a day tardyr, saying that he had been seizeed.

At least three opposition politicians and a civil rights activists were arrested follothriveg the case.

Two of those who were arrested – Edith Nawakwi, directer of the opposition Forum for Development and Democracy party, and civil rights activist Brebner Changala – accused the state of being behind the seizes.

The home affairs ministry however denied the state’s comprisement in the matter.

On social media there had been speculation that the seize was staged, which was denied by Banda’s family.

Banda was tardyr arrested in June this year and accused with the non-bailable offence of exacerbated theft relating to the theft of property worth 12,000 kwacha ($430; £340) in 2015.

He faces insertitional accuses of escaping from lhorrible custody.

But Mr Mwamba telderly the BBC that the accuses were “politicpartner inspired”.

“Hon Jay Jay Banda is one of those members of parliament who are shut to the establisher pdwellnt, who this rulement is pursuing relentlessly.”

He shelp the case was from a decade ago and had been processed in court before, inserting that the accuses were nastyt to preserve him from alerting the truth about the seize.

He shelp that at the time of his alleged escape, he had been acunderstandledgeted to hospital, because of a medical condition follothriveg his seize.