Chiluba 'took gifts, not bribes'
2007-08-15 15:31
Lusaka - Graft-tainted former Zambian president Frederick Chiluba's lawyers on Wednesday said $9m found in a London bank account were gifts and not bribes as alleged.
Chiluba, who was accused of stealing $500 000 from state coffers when he led the country for a decade from 1991, had insisted that the money was from personal donations for him, which he mixed with state funds in a London account.
State witness, Maulu Hamujele, who conducted an audit on the London account, told the court that about $8.5m could not be traced to the government.
Chiluba, who was suffering from an acute heart complication, sat in the dock together with two of his co-accused, but the trial had to be stopped twice after the ex-leader said he needed to rest.
The trial, which started in 2003, had taken long due to legal technicalities and was further delayed by Chiluba's sickness who had to be flown to South Africa for treatment.
Chiluba, 65, was found guilty in May by a London high court for stealing more than $50m of state funds together with his former aides.
- AFP