WRAP Fmr president Chiluba cleared of corruption, sot, leaving court

Описание: (17 Aug 2009)
1. Former Zambian President Fredrick Titus Jacob Chiluba exiting court surrounded by cheering well-wishers
2. Chiluba and supporters singing
3. SOUNDBITE: (English) Fredrick Titus Jacob Chiluba, former Zambian President:
"I will speak much later, in another two weeks. I just now want to thank the almighty God whose mercy endures forever. On behalf of my wife, my entire family, we want to pay tribute to him. He has never failed us."
4. Chiluba getting into car outside courtroom, cheered on by crowd
5. Car driving away
STORYLINE:
A magistrate acquitted former Zambian President Frederick Chiluba of corruption charges on Monday after a six-year trial in a ruling that overjoyed his supporters but frustrated clean-government campaigners in Africa.
The 63-year-old former leader, was accused of diverting nearly 500-thousand US dollars of state money into accounts to pay for an extravagant lifestyle when he served as Zambia's first democratically elected leader from 1991 to 2001.
The judge ruled that the funds could not be traced to government coffers.
About 150 supporters in the courtroom broke into applause even before Magistrate Jones Chinyama finished reading the handwritten, 3,400-word verdict.
"After studying the evidence presented to this court, I'm left with no doubt that the prosecution failed to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt," Chinyama said.
Speaking after the hearing, Chiluba said he would discuss the case in further detail in the next two weeks.
In the meantime he said, he just wanted to "thank the almighty God whose mercy endures forever."
Chiluba smiled and hugged his wife and other family members, then walked from the courthouse to his black Mercedes-Benz as his supporters ran after him, singing and dancing.
Two co-defendants, former executives of a financial services company, were found guilty of receiving stolen money from the Zambian intelligence services.
They both were sentenced to five years in jail.
Chiluba, who had faced up 15 years in jail, had claimed to be the victim of a political witch hunt backed by Britain, Zambia's former colonial rulers.
Chiluba's prosecution was part of a larger anti-corruption strategy pushed by the late President Levy Mwanawasa, once Chiluba's protege.
Mwanawasa died last year at the age of 59 after a stroke.
Mwanawasa's vice president, Rupiah Banda, won election last October to complete the remaining three years in Mwanawasa's five-year term.

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...