By Esther Chisola
Home Affairs and Internal Security minister Jack Mwiimbu has confirmed that incarcerated Petauke Central member of Parliament Emmanuel Jay-Jay Banda has escaped from lawful custody.
And Mwiimbu said the two police officers and three Zambia Correctional Service officers that were guarding Banda are now in police custody.
Speaking during an urgent media briefing yesterday, Mwiimbu said a manhunt had been launched against Banda.
“I want to inform the nation that last night around 22 hours, the honorable member of parliament for Petauke Jay-Jay Banda who is in custody at Chipata correctional service has escaped from lawful custody. I would like to inform the nation that at around 22 hours as I indicated earlier, yesterday, Mr Jay-Jay Banda who is facing aggravated robbery charges escaped from lawful custody,” he said.
Mwiimbu said Banda escaped through a hospital window, from a room in which his wife asked for privacy for him to undergo a routine soaking to treat the hernia disease he was diagnosed with.
“At about 21 hours, the police officers were requested by Jay-Jay’s wife going by the name of Lombe Chalibanda aged 31 that they wanted privacy for Jay-Jay Banda wanted to use the toilet and also to apply the direction by the medical doctors that he has to sit in,” he said.
He said the process was done, the wife called the police officers back to the room and unfortunately, Banda was not there.
“Preliminary investigations that have been done by the officers there who were guarding him is that he went out of the room out of the window. He escaped from lawful custody using the window from the hospital. How he did it it’s a matter under investigation,” he added.
The minister said a manhunt had since been launched for Banda.
“The Zambia police service and other security wings have launched a manhunt for the fugitive Jay-Jay Banda. As you may be aware, honorable Jay-Jay Banda was committed to the High Court for trial for aggravated robbery. And because that matter is not bailable, he remained in the custody of the Zambia correctional service even when he escaped, he was under the custody of the Zambia correctional service,” he said.
Mwiimbu said despite tight security guarding Banda, he still managed to escape.
“He was guarded by three Zambia correctional service and two Zambia police officers, in total five security officers were supposed to be guarding Jay-Jay Banda. Despite these measures that were put in place, he managed to escape from lawful custody,” added Mwiimbu .
