Zambia’s Former First Lady Arrested For Money Laundering

 Zambia’s former first lady, Esther Lungu, has been arrested on money laundering charges, according to her lawyer, Makebi Zulu, on Friday.

This comes days after her husband claimed he was being targeted as part of a political vendetta.

Lungu was detained on Thursday evening with her two daughters after being questioned by Zambia’s Drug Enforcement Agency about properties the family holds in the country’s capital, Lusaka.

According to her lawyer, the properties, a block of flats in Lusaka’s high-end New Kasama district, were built by Lungu’s husband, former president Edgar Lungu.

Although She has since been released on bail, the anti-drug agency, which also has a mandate to investigate money laundering allegations, said Lungu could not provide a reasonable explanation for how she acquired the flats, which cost 41 million kwacha ($1.6 million) to construct, and suspects they are proceeds of crime.

This is not her first encounter with the police; last year, her house was raided over allegations of vehicle theft.

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