HARARE, Zimbabwe – Emmanuel Jay Banda, a fugitive Zambian lawmaker with a $72,000 bounty on his head, has been apprehended in Zimbabwe, Zambia’s home affairs minister announced on Wednesday.
Banda, the Member of Parliament for Petauke Central, was arrested by Zimbabwean authorities in Harare on Tuesday. He had been on the run since August when he escaped custody at Chipata General Hospital in Lusaka, where he was being held on charges of aggravated robbery and attempted murder.
The fugitive lawmaker fled after allegedly slipping out of a third-floor hospital window on August 4, evading five officers assigned to guard him. Zambian police subsequently offered a reward of 2 million kwacha (approximately $72,000) for information leading to his capture.
During a press briefing in Lusaka, Zambia’s Home Affairs Minister Jack Mwiimbu confirmed Banda’s arrest, noting that he was found renting a flat in Harare. Extradition proceedings are now underway, and Banda will remain in Zimbabwe until these are completed.
A new charge of escaping lawful custody has been added to the allegations against him. Banda was initially arrested in June in connection with a 2015 robbery at Mzigawa Primary School in Vubwi district. According to court documents, the stolen items included a Canon camera valued at K10,000, spectacles worth K1,800, two bank cards, and K200 in cash, with a total estimated value of $435. The victim was identified as Peter Sukwa Muchelenga.
