A Zambian court on Monday dropped charges against former president Frederick Chiluba for the theft of $41-million in public funds but the ex-leader was arrested and charged only a few hours later with embezzling one million dollars.
Magistrate Jones Chinyama said graft charges against Chiluba and four co-accused should be dropped after state prosecutors said they wanted to review the indictment.
”The accused persons are hereby discharged with respect to the offences they were charged with,” Chinyama said.
A prosecution official said that the charges against Chiluba were dropped in a bid to re-organise the cases to make the trial move faster.
Chinyama warned a visibly shocked Chiluba that he and his accomplices could be re-arrested on the same charges if the state found enough evidence against them.
Chiluba, who initially was facing 86 counts of corruption and theft of $41-million in public funds, was re-arrested and charged with only eight counts, said his aide Emmanuel Mwamba.
”He has been granted police bond (bail) and he has already left the police station,” Mwamba said.
A prosecution official said Chiluba has now been charged with theft of one million dollars as opposed to the earlier $41-million because the state wanted to move faster with the trial by concentrating on ”solid charges”.
”The rest of the counts are related more to his co-accused, especially those who fled the country,” the prosecutor said on condition on anonymity.
Chiluba and six others have been charged with corruption, abuse of office and the theft of more than $41-million of state funds during his tenure from 1991 to 2001.
Chiluba was first arrested in September last year but his trial only commenced in December the same year and repeated legal technicalities have delayed its completion.
Chiluba was jointly charged with two businessmen, two former treasury officials, former intelligence chief Xavier Chungu and former Zambian envoy to the United States Atan Shansonga. The latter two have fled the country. – Sapa-AFP