Chiluba not in the clear yet

LUSAKA – A Zambian court yesterday dropped corruption charges against former president Frederick Chiluba on technical grounds, but he was immediately summoned by police and could be re-arrested.

Magistrate Jones Chinyama said graft charges against Chiluba and four co-accused should be dropped after state prosecutors said they wanted to review the indictment. “The accused persons are hereby discharged with respect to the offences they were charged with,” Chinyama said.A prosecution official told AFP that the charges against Chiluba were dropped in a bid to re-organise the cases to make the trial move faster.Chinyama warned a visibly shocked Chiluba that he and his accomplices could be re-arrested on the same charges if the state found enough evidence against them.Chiluba and six others have been charged with corruption, abuse of office and the theft of more than 40 million dollars of state funds during his tenure from 1991 to 2001.- Nampa-AFP”The accused persons are hereby discharged with respect to the offences they were charged with,” Chinyama said.A prosecution official told AFP that the charges against Chiluba were dropped in a bid to re-organise the cases to make the trial move faster.Chinyama warned a visibly shocked Chiluba that he and his accomplices could be re-arrested on the same charges if the state found enough evidence against them.Chiluba and six others have been charged with corruption, abuse of office and the theft of more than 40 million dollars of state funds during his tenure from 1991 to 2001.- Nampa-AFP