A member of the Zambian legislature who escaped with money on his head has been arrested in Zimbabwe, Zambian authorities have said.
Emmanuel “Jay Jay” Banda, who was facing robbery charges, is accused of escaping from custody in August pending a court appearance.
He is said to have jumped out of the window at the Chipata Central Hospital in Eastern Province where he was admitted following his arrest and is being guarded by police and prison officers.
The police then released 2m Zambian kwacha ($72,000; £57,000) from him.
He denies the robbery charges.
At a press conference on Wednesday, the minister of home affairs in Zambia said that the member of parliament was arrested earlier this week in Harare.
Jack Mwiimbu said the Member of Parliament was arrested by the Zimbabwean police in the apartment he rented and will stay there pending extradition laws.
He said the government is looking to know who caused him to run away from parliament and his wife’s visit to Harare.
He thanked the Zimbabwean authorities for their cooperation.
The opposition Patriotic Front (PF), led by former President Edgar Lungu, condemned what it called “an emerging and worrying situation”.
Banda, who has been an independent Member of Parliament since 2021, was previously associated with Lungu, who lost the presidency to Hakainde Hichilema that year.
The PF spokesperson, Emmanuel Mwamba, said that what is happening is “kidnapping” adding that the government should follow the “laws set by the world for repatriation”.
“We urge the Zambian government not to associate with other African countries that are known to go to other places and pick out a citizen they want to commit a crime,” he told the BBC.
The head of the home affairs department denied that the cases were about politics and said they started before Mr Banda came to parliament.
In a statement sent to the BBC, Mwiimbu said “as a member of parliament, we expect Mr Banda to respect Zambian law and order”.
On Thursday, the Zambian police said that Interpol in Harare had confirmed that Banda was in their custody, and asked for documents to be sent home.
It mentioned that Banda in the first interview with Interpol denied the charges, “saying that he was targeted because of his relationship” with Lungu. This led to a request for clarification on the charges brought by Zambia.
The Zambian police added that arrangements are being made to “finalize and transfer the necessary documents to [Interpol in] Harare is currently in progress” and further updates will be provided later.
In May this year, Banda was reported missing under unclear circumstances. He woke up a day later saying he was kidnapped.
At least three opposition politicians and human rights activists were arrested following the case.
Two of those arrested – Edith Nawakwi, leader of the opposition Forum for Development and Democracy, and civil rights activist Brebner Changala – accused the government of being behind the kidnapping.
However, the Ministry of Home Affairs has denied that the state is involved in this matter.
There were allegations on social media that people had been kidnapped, which Banda’s family denied.
Banda was later arrested in June this year and charged with a non-bailable charge of aggravated robbery in connection with the theft of property worth 12,000 kwacha ($430; £340) in 2015.
He faces other charges of escaping lawful custody.
But Mr Mwamba told the BBC that the charges were “politically related”.
“Honorable Jay Jay Banda is one of the members of parliament who are close to the former president, who this government has been following relentlessly.”
He said that this case was ten years ago, and it was investigated in court, and he said that the cases were designed to prevent him from telling the truth about his abduction.
He said that when he was employed, he was admitted to the hospital due to his illness following his abduction.
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