Investigators quiz Rupiah Banda
2013-03-18 16:06
Lusaka - Zambia's former president Rupiah Banda appeared
before government investigators for questioning Monday, just days after
parliament voted to strip his immunity from prosecution.
Banda - who ruled the country from 2008 to 2011 - is due to
answer allegations of corruption, money laundering and fraud, which his lawyers
say are part of a political ploy to silence dissenting views.
It was not immediately clear whether he was to be arrested.
Banda lost to rival Michael Sata in 2011 elections, which at
the time were lauded as a model in peaceful handover of power in Africa.
But Sata has since launched an anti-corruption drive seen by
many as a scheme to silence dissenting views.
On Friday - with the backing of Sata's party - parliament
voted to strip Banda of his presidential immunity.
The former president's lawyer Robert Amsterdam described the
case against his client as "a crass political strategy aimed at removing
potential competitors".
But Justice Minister Wynter Kabimba has claimed that when he
was president, Banda engaged in corrupt activities in the procurement of crude
oil from a Nigerian firm.
He also accuses him of funnelling taxpayer cash into his
election campaigns.
Corruption watchdog Transparency International has supported
calls for lifting Banda's immunity so he can answer the charges against him.
