Zambia’s ex-President Lungu under house arrest, he says
Zambia’s former President Edgar Lungu has said that he was “practically under house arrest”, accusing police of a plot to forcefully detain him “for no reason”. Mr Lungu said police were mobilising to arrest him at night from his residence in the capital, Lusaka.
It comes a few days after the former leader was quoted as saying that there could be a change of government in the country before the 2026 general election. Police chief Graphael Musamba said Mr Lungu would be summoned to explain his statement, local media reported.
Mr Lungu announced a comeback to politics last October, prompting the government to withdraw his retirement benefits. He had retired from politics after losing the presidency to Hakainde Hichilema in 2021. The former leader has been accusing the government of victimising him and members of his Patriotic Front (PF) party to block his return to politics.
His wife, former First Lady Esther Lungu, has been accused of corruption involving cases of theft of motor vehicles and title deeds. She denies the allegations. The government has denied targeting Mr Lungu and asked him to give his successor time to deliver his campaign promises. On Wednesday, Mr Lungu said he had been subject to numerous unconstitutional actions by the state after leaving office.
He claimed police were under instructions to “ambush me at night, abduct, embarrass, and forcefully detain me like a hardcore criminal”. “As far as I am aware, I have not committed any crime that would warrant the government, through the police, to start scheming against me in this manner,” Mr Lungu added. It is not clear if there is still a police presence at his home on Thursday and police did not immediately respond to BBC inquiries on the matter.
But the presidency has argued in the past that it respects human rights and does not interfere in the operations of the police.
