A South African pilot has been arrested for allegedly trying to sneak Zambia’s former spy chief out of his country, newspapers reported on Sunday.
James Graham told Zambian officials he was sent by a friend to fly Zambia’s former head of intelligence, Xavier Chungu, and five others out of the country to an unnamed destination, the state-run Sunday Mail reported.
Chungu was arrested in the northern Zambian town of Mansa on Thursday, allegedly for stealing a motorbike.
Intelligence officers have since said Chungu planned to fly out of Zambia from the northern town of Kawambwa, close to the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The DRC-registered plane was intercepted by Zambian officials at Mongu, a small town in Zambia’s Western Province, on its way to Kawambwa, the paper said.
The plane, a small jet, has been impounded by the authorities. The pilot, who has agreed to cooperate with Zambian security officials, revealed his foiled plans, the Sunday Times reported.
The paper said Graham was expected to testify against Chungu in court on Monday. It is Chungu’s fourth arrest in three months over various criminal offences.
The former intelligence boss, a close associate of ex-president Frederick Chiluba, is facing charges of high-level corruption, abuse of office and theft of motor vehicles.
He is one of several influential figures who has been charged with motor vehicle theft in the government’s much-vaunted anti-corruption drive.
Chiluba himself has been accused of stealing millions of dollars from state coffers during his term in office. – Sapa-AFP