Zambia arrests archbishop and government critic

Anti-corruption police arrested a Zambian Catholic archbishop Monday, the latest in a string of arrests of critics of President Hakainde Hichilema.

Alick Banda, Archbishop of Lusaka since 2018, was an outspoken supporter of the main opposition challenger in the August election that handed Hichilema a second term.

His arrest centres on a vehicle reportedly given to him by late former president Edgar Lungu, Hichilema's predecessor and bitter rival.

The Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC), which also covers money-laundering and financial crimes, said the Toyota Hilux was "reasonably suspected to have been unlawfully obtained from the Zambia Revenue Authority".

Banda denied the charges and was released on bail ahead of his trial scheduled for November.

News of his arrest prompted Catholics to gather for prayers at Lusaka's biggest cathedral.

Several opposition figures have been arrested since the August 13 election, including the main opposition candidate Brian Mundubile.

Eleven were rounded up a day after the vote in a security force raid on Mundubile's home in which a former cabinet minister was shot dead.

Mundubile, who came a distant second to Hichilema, took refuge with an international organisation before surrendering two weeks later.

He and his running mate, Makebi Zulu, have been charged with treason but are yet to stand trial.

The arrest and claims of irregularities, violence and an uneven playing field around the vote have intensified concerns that Zambia's democracy is being eroded.

Authorities on September 11 cancelled passports of six government critics while they were out of the country, a move that Amnesty International said was "using administrative powers to silence critics".