A British journalist who incurred the wrath of the Zambian government for allegedly insulting President Levy Mwanawasa, has been arrested for allegedly assaulting police officers, a spokesperson for his newspaper said on Friday.
Roy Clarke was arrested when he allegedly shoved officers at a local police station when they ”showed a lack of concern” after he tried to report the abduction of his daughter by three armed men on Thursday night, said Amos Malupenga, the Post’s news editor.
”He is currently in detention and may appear in court today (Friday),” said Malupenga.
Malupenga said Clark’s daughter was abducted in her car by three men dressed in police uniforms, who drove around with her for several hours, before dumping her at the roadside and driving off with her car.
Police spokesperson Brenda Muntemba confirmed the arrest, but added ”we are unable to give any further details”.
Clark, a satirical columnist for the privately-owned Post newspaper, was ordered last month to leave the country after he allegedly insulted Mwanawasa and one of his ministers in an article.
Clarke wrote a January 1 column modelled along the lines of George Orwell’s Animal Farm, in which he referred to the person in charge of a game park as a ”Mawelewele” — or ”fool” in the local Nyanja dialect.
The state issued an arrest warrant for him and launched an intensive manhunt after Clark went into hiding. The writer surfaced two weeks later, saying he had a ”marvellous” time evading Zambian police.
He obtained a court order to block his deportation and was still awaiting a ruling by the Lusaka High Court. Clark has lived in Zambia for more than 40 years and is married to a Zambian women’s rights activist. – Sapa-AFP