Former Zambia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Joseph Malanji has been arrested for alleged money-laundering activities.
The authorities said Mr Malanji was arrested for owning a hotel suspected to be bought by proceeds of crime.
He is also suspected to have procured a helicopter $700,000 (£530,000) from proceeds of crime.
Mr Malanji has previously denied the allegations.
He was arrested by the anti-money laundering unit of Zambia’s Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC), becoming the second ex-minister to be arrested in a week after former justice minister Given Lubinda who was charged on Tuesday.
“The hotel has since been seized together with the two helicopters, the other one being the helicopter he was arrested for earlier which are currently in South Africa and arrangements are being made to have them brought into the country,” the commission’s spokesman Mathias Kamanga said in a statement.
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Mr Malanji has been released on police bond, according to the local Diamond TV.
He served in the cabinet of former President Edgar Lungu, who lost the presidential election in August 2021.
Zambia’s new government is pursuing an anti-corruption drive after winning elections last year. It is yet to secure any major convictions.
Nigerian father loses four children in boat accident
A Nigerian father lost four of his children after they drowned following a boat accident in the northern state of Kebbi.
Musa Labaran, who survived the accident, told the BBC that he made unsuccessful attempts to save the fifth child who was closer to him on the boat.
He said bodies of the four children had been recovered. The fifth one is presumed dead but his body has not been found.
The authorities and residents say the family was going to a farm across a river on Wednesday when their boat capsized in the Yauri area during strong winds.
Nigeria experiences frequent boat accidents.
In May last year, more than 100 people drowned when their boat capsized in Kebbi state, while in December about 30 people died in a similar accident in Kano state.
Such mishaps are usually blamed on overloading, poor maintenance of boats and bad weather conditions.
Source: BBC