April 24 – The president of the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) Andrew Kamanga was arrested and charged with money laundering offences on Tuesday before being released.
Zambia’s Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) alleges that Kamanga obtained government funds under false pretences and was part of a conspiracy to defraud. He was arrested along with Reuben Kamanga, the FAZ General Secretary, Madalitso Kamanga and Jairous Siame.
The DEC claims that the FAZ boss used money to fund trips for associates to the 2023 African Cup of Nations held in January in the Ivory Coast.
Madalitso Kamanga and Siame travelled to the tournament, including the warmup camp, as FAZ officials, but neither Madalitso Kamanga nor Siame held official or executive positions within FAZ at the time.
The three are alleged to have acted together to obtain 341,902 Zambian kwacha ($13,150) from the government for expenses and a further 99,980 kwacha ($3,850) for return flights to Ivory Coast.
The DEC says the fraudulent activity occurred between 1 January and 15 February, coinciding with the AFCON finals. FAZ said that this was part of “long-term plan” to bring Kamanga’s reputation into disrepute ahead of the future presidential elections. This weekend FAZ will stage its annual general meeting.
In an interview with local TV on Tuesday evening, Kamanga defended himself arguing that it is not unusual for persons who are not FAZ employees to travel as part of the official delegation, raising the example of the team doctors. He said they are not FAZ employees.
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