Zambian police on Tuesday arrested former information and broadcasting minister Chishimba Kambwili and charged him with three counts, among them forgery and uttering false document.
The former minister, who was summoned on Monday to appear before the police in Lusaka, the country’s capital, was arrested after being interrogated.
He told reporters during a press briefing after appearing before police that he has been charged with three counts, including forgery, uttering false document and presenting a false document to a public officer.
He said the charges relate to his company registered under his son at the Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA).
He is expected to appear in court on Friday, January 26.
But Kambwili, who was fired in November 2016, described the charges as trumped up and a waste of taxpayers’ money.
“We are ready for them. We are ready to meet them in court,” he said.
The former minister, who, apart from still being a governing party lawmaker, is also a consultant for the opposition National Democratic Congress, described the use of the police by the authorities to intimidate those with divergent views as a breakdown of the rule of law.
Police spokesperson Esther Mwaata-Katongo also confirmed the arrest of the former minister but denied allegations that the arrest was politically motivated.
Kambwili arrived at the police station in the company of supporters from the ruling party who had carried a mattress and other beddings for him in case he was denied police bond, according to local media.
However the opposition supporters were attacked by suspected ruling party youths who stormed the police station with machetes and knives, with a number of the ruling party supporters injured.