Zambia’s President Levy Mwanawasa has fired his vice-president, Nevers Mumba, for making a public statement about a fugitive former spy chief without consulting the presidency. ”I have removed him with immediate effect and revoked his appointment as nominated member of parliament,” Mwanawasa said at a news briefing at State House late on Monday
A non-governmental organisation has introduced chocolate, banana, and strawberry-scented condoms, saying they would attract even the most reluctant users in Zambia, state media reported on Monday. The condoms, intended as a novelty for the rich, were introduced in the mining town of Kitwe in the Copperbelt region by Clyde Robinson of the Society for Family Health.
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/ 17 September 2004
Zambia has temporarily suspended exports of crude oil to neighbouring Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo after fuel shortages hit the Southern African country, state media reported on Friday. The suspension will remain in force until the situation improves in Zambia.
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/ 16 September 2004
Voluntary testing or mandatory testing? That is the question Aids activists and government officials are grappling with in Zambia, where about one million people have already died in the pandemic since the late 1980s. As a draft national Aids policy is still under discussion, lawmakers have yet to finalise their position on the matter of testing.
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/ 15 September 2004
Zambians could be forgiven for pleading "Constitution fatigue". The Constitution that was drawn up for their country at independence in 1964 has been replaced three times in the past 40 years. Now, yet another Constitution is up for debate — something that has pitted the government against civil society.
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/ 13 September 2004
A Zambian court has dropped charges against former president Frederick Chiluba for the theft of -million in public funds but the ex-leader was arrested and charged only a few hours later with embezzling one million dollars. A prosecution official said the charges were dropped to re-organise the case.
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/ 4 September 2004
The Zambian government has declared a five-year emergency over the Aids pandemic to allow for cheap generic anti-retroviral drugs to be produced locally. The Aids emergency will allow local drugs manufacturers to produce cheap Aids medication for local consumption.
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/ 2 September 2004
An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease that was discovered last week in Zambia’s Southern Province has spread to various parts of the country, threatening beef exports, an official said on Thursday. The disease, which usually kills cattle, is spreading quickly in the Southern African country because of a lack of vaccines.
Zambia’s former finance minister Katele Kalumba and three ex-senior treasury officials have been arrested and charged with abuse of office and corruption involving -million. Kalumba has been included in the ongoing corruption case where ex-aides of former president Frederick Chiluba have been put on trial on corruption charges.
Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa has ordered a probe into reports that State House, his office and residence, spent two billion kwacha ( 000) on beverages in a year, state television reported on Friday. ”I was alarmed, I think shocked is better, to learn State House spent two-billion kwacha on beverages,” Mwanawasa was quoted as saying by the state-run Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation.
Zambia is providing partly subsidised Aids drugs to more than 12 000 people as part of its long-term goal to have 100 000 patients on life-prolonging treatment by next year, the health minister said on Tuesday. ”The drugs are now available in both public and private hospitals,” Health Minister Brian Chituwo told Parliament.
Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa has warned white farmers who have resettled from neighbouring Zimbabwe that they will be thrown out if they use speech that is deemed to be racist, a state-run newspaper reported on Monday. Mwanawasa, who was touring the Mkushi farming bloc in central Zambia, advised them to quickly learn how to cohabit with Zambians working on their farms, it said.
Zambia’s government is to present a tough Bill on cyber crime to Parliament on Friday that will see convicted hackers and other offenders face harsh sentences ranging from 15 to 25 years in jail. The Computer Misuse and Crimes Bill enjoys strong backing from bankers and the Computer Society of Zambia.
Zambian and Angolan interior ministers on Tuesday were holding talks to try to clear obstacles in the way of allowing about 40 000 refugees from Angola to return home, an official said. Zambia is sheltering close to 200 000 Angolan refugees, the highest number of Angolans living outside their country.
Zambia has released 14 coup plotters from prison after President Levy Mwanawasa commuted their death sentences to prison terms earlier this year. The 14 junior soldiers, who were convicted for their role in a foiled 1997 military coup against then president Frederick Chiluba, were released after serving one-third of their 10-year prison sentences.
Zambia’s President Levy Mwanawasa on Friday said he could drop corruption charges against his predecessor Frederick Chiluba if the former leader returned about 75% of what he allegedly stole. Chiluba (61), is facing a raft of charges including the theft of -million from the state during his tenure as president.
This month marks the second anniversary of a corruption task force set up by Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa to investigate the alleged improprieties of his predecessor, Frederick Chiluba. However, chances of the former leader being convicted on any of the charges seem increasingly remote.
The trial of Zambia’s former president Frederick Chiluba — who is accused of stealing -million in state funds — was adjourned on Friday because one of his co-accused has fled the country. The state said it was still trying to arrest Atan Shansonga, a former Zambian ambassador to the United States.
A Zambian court on Tuesday ordered the release of former president Frederick Chiluba on charges of stealing -million in state funds after the prosecution dropped the case. However, the decision was procedural, with prosecution officials saying they planned to file the charges again after carrying out a full review.
A Zambian minister on Tuesday said 30 bridges had collapsed across the country in the past three months because of torrential rains, killing at least 10 people and injuring several others. About 10 people died and many were injured when a bus plunged into a river after one bridge collapsed last month.
Former Zambian president Frederick Chiluba, who is facing corruption charges, has likened his ”suffering” to that of Jesus Christ, after watching the film The Passion of the Christ. ”I have suffered after stepping down from the presidency but not like Jesus did. I have just suffered a quarter of that,” he said.
Zambia’s former intelligence boss Xavier Chungu and three former senior government officials under former president Frederick Chiluba were acquitted on Friday on charges of stealing government vehicles. Chungu still faces charges of corruption and theft of more than -million together with Chiluba.
South Africa’s neighbours who formed an anti-apartheid alliance and sheltered black liberation groups bear deep scars from a backlash by the former white racist regime in Pretoria whose stint in power ended a decade ago.
Two Zambians arrested last month for possession of weapons-grade uranium now face charges of espionage, their lawyer said on Monday. Kelvin Bwalya said Francis Changufu and Andrew Milambo were charged on Monday after the state withdrew the earlier charge of being in ”possession of dangerous substances”.
A Zambian bank has given more than -million to white Zimbabwean farmers re-settling in Zambia, state media reported on Monday. Scores of farmers have been moving into Zambia to set up commercial tourism and farming blocs in the southern and central parts of the country.
A top Zambian government official was arrested and charged with corruption and abuse of office, an spokesperson for Zambia’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) said on Thursday. Webster Walubisha, a senior permanent secretary in the office of the vice-president, was arrested and charged on Wednesday morning.
Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa has had an uneasy relationship with civil society from the beginning of his term in office. However, matters worsened recently when he accused Aids activists of monopolising the funds provided by donors to fight the pandemic.
Former Zambian president Frederick Chiluba on Monday appeared before two different courts on corruption and theft charges but both cases were adjourned due to disorganisation in the prosecution team. ”It’s disappointing that the state never seems to be ready to proceed with these matters,” a magistrate said.
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/ 25 February 2004
Financial difficulties have forced the Zambian government to cancel celebrations of all public holidays this year except Independence Day on October 24, a government spokesperson said on Wednesday. An estimated ,3-million is expected to be saved by not celebrating public holidays this year.
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/ 16 February 2004
Zambia’s labour movement has declared February 18 a day of national protest against the government’s decision to increase taxes and freeze salaries of the more than 120 000 public service workers. Just a week earlier, in a pre-Budget interview on television, the finance minister had assured he would not increase taxes.
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/ 16 February 2004
A Zambian court on Monday adjourned the trial of former president Frederick Chiluba, who is facing charges of corruption and abuse of office during his decade in power, with the magistrate rapping the prosecution for being disorganised. ”I am not impressed at all,” Magistrate Jones Chinyama said.
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/ 13 February 2004
A British journalist who incurred the wrath of the Zambian government for allegedly insulting President Levy Mwanawasa, has been arrested for allegedly assaulting police officers, a spokesperson for his newspaper said on Friday.