Former First Lady arrested for alleged graft

Zambia's former First Lady Esther Lungu and her daughter, Chiyeso Katete, have been arrested over possession of properties suspected to be proceeds of crime. BBC News reports that the two were arrested on Thursday in the capital, Lusaka, alongside another close relative identified as Charles Phiri, authorities said. Lungu ‘failed to give a reasonable explanation’ of how she acquired a $1.5m estate in the capital, the state Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) said. Former President Edgar Lungu said the family would challenge the charges in court. The former leader has been accusing the government of victimising him and members of his Patriotic Front party to block his return to politics ahead of 2026 elections. He recently claimed to have been put under house arrest over his heightened political activities although the government denied it. Last September, his wife was arrested over corruption allegations, involving cases of theft of motor vehicles and title deeds, which she denied. The DEC said Lungu owned ‘15 white double-storey flats’ situated in State Lodge area of Lusaka's Chongwe town, ‘reasonably suspected to be proceeds of crime’. The DEC said her daughter was faced with additional charges of acquiring another three flats estate in Lusaka, suspected to have been bought fraudulently. Another of Lungu's daughters, Tasila, is facing separate but related charges, according to the DEC. She has been ordered, through her lawyers, to appear at the DEC on Monday.