Zambia seeks to deny bail to five Egyptians, 6 nationals charged with spying

LUSAKA (Reuters) – Zambia is attempting to prevent the release on bail of five Egyptians and six Zambians who have been charged with espionage for entering a restricted area of Lusaka airport. This comes two weeks after Zambian authorities seized their plane along with guns, bullets, cash, and counterfeit gold.

In the capital city of Lusaka, the men were charged by a magistrates court on Monday. However, magistrate Davies Chibwili deferred their bail application until the following day after the defense rejected a prosecutor’s certificate denying them bail.

“The state needs to provide reasons as to why accused individuals, whose freedom is being taken away, should be denied bail,” defense lawyer Martha Mushipe argued in court.

Although the charge sheet did not mention the aircraft or confiscated items, the defendants’ lawyers stated in a release that they were present on a plane searched by Zambia’s Drug Enforcement Agency on August 13 at Lusaka’s main airport.

The agency reported discovering approximately $5.7 million in cash, five pistols, 126 rounds of ammunition, and 602 pieces of suspected gold weighing around 127 kilograms on the plane, which had arrived from Cairo.

Nevertheless, Zambian Mines Minister Paul Kabuswe disclosed to journalists two days later that laboratory analysis of the seized metal bars revealed they primarily contained copper and zinc, despite their outward appearance resembling gold. This provoked speculation in the Zambian media that some of the suspects may have intended to deceive gold buyers with a fraudulent bullion scheme.

According to two Egyptian security sources, the plane seized in Zambia had undergone inspection by authorities prior to departing from Cairo. However, bags belonging to one of the arrested Egyptians were not searched, and this is presently under investigation.

On August 20, Egypt’s journalists syndicate reported that security forces in Cairo had assaulted an Egyptian journalist who had published a report about the plane bound for Zambia on the online platform Matsada2sh, which translates to “Don’t Believe It” in Arabic.

(Reporting by Chris Mfula; additional reporting by Cairo Newsroom; writing by Tim Cocks; editing by Mark Heinrich)