A South African national has been arrested in Zambia for allegedly insulting and making disparaging remarks about President Levy Mwanawasa to fellow miners, an official said on Monday.
Brandon Childs (22) was arrested last week after some Zambians he was working with at the Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) reported him to the police for allegedly defaming the president, a district commissioner Dyford Muulwa said.
”He was arrested and charged with an offence of defaming the president,” Muulwa said.
The nature of the insults against Mwanawasa have not been disclosed.
Childs, who works for RJ Southey, a South African firm contracted by MCM, has since been released on police bail awaiting instructions from the director of public prosecutions to decide on the next course of action.
Defaming the head of state in Zambia is a criminal offence that can carry a maximum jail sentence of three years.
A British national was early this year deported from Zambia after he insulted Mwanawasa while another Briton, a newspaper columnist, is awaiting his fate in the Supreme Court after the government tried to have him kicked out for insulting the president in an article. — Sapa-AFP