Zambia Police Arrest Ex-Leader Lungu’s Wife On Theft Charges

(Bloomberg) -- Zambian police said that they have arrested Esther Lungu, the wife of the country’s former president, Edgar Lungu.

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She and four other people were charged with motor vehicle theft and taken into custody on Wednesday, Zambia Police Deputy Public Relations Officer Danny Mwale said in a statement. The former first lady was also charged with the possession of property believed to be from the proceeds of crime, Mwale added.

The charges against Lungu are “quite preposterous,” her lawyer Makebi Zulu said in an interview. Lungu and her co-accused were released from police custody late on Wednesday night.

“All the five suspects were released on police bond pending court appearance,” Mwale said in a statement Thursday morning.

In May, police questioned Lungu over her possession of three motor vehicles. A month later, police arrested her son Daliso and his wife. They were charged with money laundering and the possession of property suspected to be the proceeds of crime.

Edgar Lungu lost to Hakainde Hichilema in Zambia’s 2021 presidential elections.

(Updates with Lungu’s release in third, fourth paragraphs.)

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