Former Zambian president Frederick Chiluba was being grilled by police on Wednesday over allegations that he stole millions of dollars in state funds during his 10-year reign in the southern African country.
Chiluba, accompanied by his lawyers, reported to a police station near his Lusaka home and was still being questioned by investigators at midday, said a police source.
Several police officers armed with tear gas were at the station, possibly in case of demonstrations by Chiluba’s supporters.
Chiluba, who left office in 2001, was arrested in February this year along with other top officials in his government on charges of abuse of office, theft and corruption. He is currently free on bail.
His trial has been delayed while his lawyers appeal for the proceedings to take place in the country’s high court, arguing that he will not get a fair hearing if he is tried in a lower court.
It was not immediately clear why Chiluba had been called in for questioning, his second grilling by police this year.
Criminal proceedings against Chiluba were set in motion last year when parliament voted in favour of stripping him of the immunity he enjoyed as a head of state.
His successor Levy Mwanawasa has made the fight against corruption a key plank in his domestic policy, vowing to stamp out the scourge in the southern African nation.
But the anti-corruption crusade suffered a setback recently when the courts set free ex-foreign minister Katele Kalumba, a former Chiluba associate, who was detained for eight months on charges of stealing a government vehicle.
The court found no case against him. – Sapa-AFP