JOHANNESBURG: Interpol has cancelled a demand for the arrest of the son of former Zambian president Rupiah Banda, his lawyer said on Friday.
The international policing body could not find enough evidence against Henry Banda to justify a red notice, which requests an arrest be made, according to his lawyer Nicqui Galaktiou.
"Interpol on April 16 cancelled the red notice and all information relating to Mr Banda was deleted from Interpol's databases," Galaktiou told AFP.
Banda's lawyers learned early last year that Zambian President Michael Sata's government had reported their client to Interpol amid corruption allegations.
He has been out of the country since his father lost power to populist Sata in a presidential election in 2011 and currently lives in South Africa.
Sata has since hauled many members of the former government to courts in what critics have described as the persecution of political opponents.
But there was not sufficient evidence to implicate Henry Banda, said Galaktiou.
She accused Sata's administration of pursuing a vendetta against the former president's son.
"There've been numerous attempts by the Zambian government to harass Mr Banda."
"Recent events in Zambia, where Mr Rupiah Banda's (presidential) immunity has been lifted, demonstrate to us that there has been a political motive against Henry all this time."
Henry Banda is wanted over allegations of corruption in the sale of Zambian state-run telecommunications company Zamtel to LAP Green of Libya. Sata's government later reversed the $257-million deal.
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