Zambia’s former president Frederick Chiluba arrived in South Africa on Friday for medical treatment after a court overturned a decision by President Levy Mwanawasa to block Chiluba’s wife from travelling with him.
A senior Zambian foreign affairs official said Chiluba had arrived in South Africa with his wife Regina and personal assistants after his spouse won a court battle to accompany her husband.
Chiluba briefly spoke to journalists before leaving Lusaka airport, where an intelligence source said he held a 20-minute closed-door meeting with a Libyan diplomat.
”I am grateful to the Zambian people and the courts for allowing me to travel with my dearest wife,” Chiluba said, after a court overturned an earlier decision by Mwanawasa to block Chiluba’s wife from leaving the country.
Chiluba’s spokesperson Emmanuel Mwamba told journalists that Chiluba would be in South Africa for four weeks for medical review and treatment of a cardiac ailment. He did not say when the former leader would return to Zambia.
Chiluba, who has been charged with stealing $488 000 in public funds while in office from 1991 to 2001, was initially blocked from leaving Zambia for treatment, amid fears he might not return. Chiluba has denied any wrongdoing and accuses Mwanawasa of a political witchhunt.
On Monday Mwanawasa allowed Chiluba to leave for treatment abroad but denied his wife permission to travel. Chiluba then refused to leave saying he could not go without his wife.
Acrimony worsened between Chiluba and Mwanawasa when the ex-president declared support for opposition leader Michael Sata in September presidential elections. Mwanawasa eventually won the poll after a divisive campaign and accusations of vote-rigging from Sata. – Sapa