LUSAKA, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Zambia's anti-corruption agency on Wednesday announced it arrested an opposition lawmaker over alleged corruption allegations.

The Anti-Corruption Commission said it arrested Mathews Jere, a lawmaker of the main opposition United Party for National Development for Livingstone constituency in the southern part of the country for abuse of authority of office, according to a statement.

The anti-corruption agency said the matter was committed between Aug. 1, 2013 and Oct. 31, 2014 when the lawmaker served as a councilor.

It alleged that the lawmaker, while acting together with other unknown people, abused the authority of his office by allocating pieces of land to himself.

He has since been released on police bond and will appear in court on Mar. 25, 2019.

The lawmaker, 45, was elected as Livingstone Member of Parliament (MP) during the 2016 general elections.

On Tuesday, transparency watchdog, Transparency International Zambia, released its 2018 Corruption Perception Index, which shows Zambia sliding two points from number 37 scored in 2017 to 35.