Former Zambian president Frederick Chiluba must stand trial on charges of stealing almost half a million dollars from the Southern African country while he was its leader, a court ruled on Friday.
Magistrate Jones Chinyama set the trial date for Chiluba, who stands charged of theft of public funds with two Lusaka businessmen, for May 5. Chiluba denies any wrongdoing.
”The prosecution has established a prima facie case against the three accused persons,” Chinyama said. ”I, therefore, find each one … with a case to answer with respect to the offences that they are charged with, and I put them on their defence.”
Chiluba is accused of stealing $488 000 in public funds during his tenure as president from 1991 to 2001. He faces a minimum of five years in jail if found guilty.
The former leader has accused President Levy Mwanawasa of leading a political campaign against him. Zambia’s Parliament removed Chiluba’s immunity from prosecution in 2002 following a request from Mwanawasa.
Prosecutors argue that Chiluba stole funds from the Treasury and transferred them to a foreign account operated by the National Intelligence Agency in a London branch of the Zambia National Commercial Bank.
But Chiluba has said some of the funds were his own money, given to him by his friends, while the rest was for national duties taken by the intelligence agency.
He is also fighting in a Zambian court to block authorities from recovering $58-million that last year a London high court ruled he had to repay, with interest, for allegedly stealing while in office.
Zambia lodged the civil case in British courts in the hope of recovering properties allegedly purchased with stolen funds and owned by Chiluba and 19 other defendants in Britain and other European countries.
Chiluba has not been convicted on criminal charges of stealing the funds and he does not recognise the authority of the London court. — Reuters