Zambian authorities have announced the arrest of a fugitive politician who had a bounty on his head in Zimbabwe.
It is said that Emmanuel “Jay Jay” Banda, who was charged with robbery, broke out of detention in August as he was waiting to appear in court.
According to reports, he broke out of the window of Chipata Central Hospital in Eastern Province, where he was being held under police and prison protection after being arrested.
After that, the police offered him a reward of 2 million Zambian kwacha ($72,000; £57,000). He refutes the robbery accusations.
The Zambian minister of home affairs announced at a press briefing on Wednesday that the MP had been taken into custody in Harare earlier this week.
According to Jack Mwiimbu, the MP was taken into custody by Zimbabwean police at the apartment he had been renting, and he would stay there while extradition procedures were completed.
He said the government was keen to know who had facilitated the MP’s escape as well as visits by his wife to Harare.
He thanked 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”.
