Former Zambian minister and critic of President Lungu arrested

A former Zambian minister and a leading critic of President Edgar Lungu was arrested in Lusaka on Thursday over allegations of making profits from criminal activity.

Chishimba Kambwili has emerged as one of the most prominent voices speaking out against Lungu, who is accused of increasingly authoritarian rule and of cracking down on dissent.

“He has been charged with 37 counts of being in possession of properties suspected to be proceeds of crime and two counts of obtaining pecuniary advantage,” Kambwili’s lawyer Keith Mweemba told AFP.

Mweemba said that Kambwili was detained by police and would appear in court on Friday.

Kambwili, a lawmaker from the governing Patriotic Front party, is a former foreign minister and also served as Lungu’s information minister.

He has since fallen out with Lungu and repeatedly accused the president and government of being corrupt.

Lungu has denied accusations that he is creating a dictatorship in Zambia and has accused rivals of trying to overturn the 2016 election result.

AFP