Zambia health minister arrested for alleged graft

Lusaka. Zambia's Health Minister Chitalu Chilufya was arrested on Wednesday and charged with using ill-gotten gains to acquire property, the country's anti-corruption commission said.

Graft investigators honed in on Chilufya, 47, last month after noticing the minister had suddenly amassed a fortune.

"Chilufya... was arrested today and charged with four counts of possession of property reasonably suspected of being proceeds of crime," commission spokesman Jonathan Siame said in a statement. 

"The arrest follows investigations the commission has been conducting against the minister in relation to the above allegations."

Chilufya has been released on police bond and is scheduled to appear in court on July 9. 

His lawyer was not immediately available for comment. If convicted, Chilufya could face up to five years in prison.

The arrest comes as Zambia struggles to contain a spiralling coronavirus outbreak.

To date the landlocked southern African country has detected 1,477 cases of the virus, including 18 deaths.

Chilufya himself tested positive for COVID-19 last month.