Frederick Chiluba

Frederick Jacob Titus Chiluba (born April 30, 1943) served as the President of Zambia from 1991 to 2002, when Zambians elected former Vice President Levy Mwanawasa as his successor.

Early life

He was born to Jacob Titus Chiluba Nkonde and Diana Kaimba and grew up in Ndola. Frederick Chiluba did his secondary school of education at Kawambwa Secondary School in Kawambwa, where he was believed to have been expelled in the second year for alleged political activity.He later completed his General Education Certificate via correspondence and studied economics through correspondence in both the United States and former Communist countries. He worked as personnel clerk before becoming an accounts assistant at Atlas Copco,and rose to the position of credit manager, in Ndola where he joined the National Union of Building, Engineering and General Workers (NUBEGW) rising through the ranks to the post of chairman of the union.

Unions

He went on to win the chairmanship of the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU). Chiluba and several leaders in ZCTU were detained in 1981 by then President Kenneth Kaunda for calling a wildcat strike that paralyzed most of the Zambian economy. The union leaders were released after judge ruled their detention as unconstitutional. In 1987, he successfully withstood challenge to his chairmanship of NUBEGW that would have put his ZCTU position in jeopardy.

Politics

In 1990 he helped form the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), a party that, with Chiluba as its presidential candidate, went on to successfully challenge Kaunda's rule in the 1991 elections. Chiluba is a powerful speaker with a natural charm and charisma. Chiluba took office on November 2 of that year. He won re-election to a second five-year term in 1996 despite a lawsuit questioning his birthplace and hence his eligibility for the post.

Chiluba attempted to deport Kaunda on the grounds that he was a Malawian. He amended the constitution in order to stop citizens with foreign parentage from standing for the presidency, aimed at disqualifying Kaunda.

Some candidates in the 1996 presidential elections challenged his eligibility on these grounds, claiming that he or his real father was born in Zaire. There is, however, no doubt that he was raised in the Copperbelt of Zambia and this contributed to his taking up of unionism.

In late 2001, Chiluba divorced his second wife, Vera, with whom he has nine children, namely Helen, Miko, Hortensia, Castro, Chongo, Kaindu, Halluda, Frederick Jr and Vera Jr. With his first wife he had Tito and Nikombe.

He later married the MMD Women's Chairperson, Regina Mwanza a divorcee. Despite his party's overwhelming majority in parliament, he failed to win support in his bid to amend the constitution allowing him to run for a third term. No member of parliament ever moved the motion in the house to amend the national constitution, the government never presented any paper on the matter nor was there any referendum to amend the national constitution. The third term debate was between different groups within and outside the MMD. Chiluba himself was quiet about it. He stepped down at the end of his term on January 2, 2002, and was replaced by Levy Mwanawasa, his once time vice-president. Although Chiluba started out as a socialist, his policies later turned capitalist, stressing free enterprise with reduced government interference.

Legacy

Chiluba can be said to have left both an economic and a political legacy. Economically he transformed Zambia from a commandist socialist oriented economy to a capitalist and free market economy. He presided over the privatisation of hundreds of state enterprises and encouraged foreign and local private investment. There are mixed feelings in Zambia on the effectiveness of the economic transformation initiated by the Chiluba government; some people feel it was unwise and riddled with corruption while others feel it was necessary in order to shake off the economic lethargy caused by many years of government paternalism. What is incontestable is that under the Chiluba government liberalisation became the guiding principle.

He helped broker a peace agreement to end the war in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo, but failed to stop the escalating crime and poverty in Zambia.

Corruption

He has recently been a target of Mwanawasa's campaign against corruption: in February 2003, he was charged along with his former intelligence chief, Xavier Chungu, and several former ministers and senior officials, with 168 counts of theft totalling more than $40m.

It is alleged that money was diverted from the Ministry of Finance into an account held at the London branch of the Zambia National Commercial Bank (Zanaco). Chiluba says the account was used by the country's intelligence services to fund operations abroad. Investigators say it was a slush fund, used to meet Chiluba and Chungu's private and personal expenses.

Most of the charges that were made against him have been dropped, while others remain. In addition, his wife Regina was arrested for receiving stolen goods.

In early 2006, Chiluba was flown to South Africa to receive medical attention for a heart condition. After resisting the government's call for him to return to Zambia for what they termed as long-term treatment, he returned on July 15.

On 4 May 2007 he was found guilty of stealing $46m (£23m) in a civil case by a UK court. London high court judge Peter Smith accused Chiluba of shamelessly defrauding his people and flaunting his wealth with an expensive wardrobe of "stupendous proportions". He also castigated his lawyer, Iqbal Meer, saying "I am satisfied that no honest solicitor in his position would have done what he did." His unquestioning acceptance of the money - transferred to a London bank account by the Zambian intelligence service - was "classic blind eye dishonesty".

Chiluba, however, continues to plead innocence and has refused to recognise the verdict of the Judge Peter Smith who he accuses of having been bribed by the Mwanawasa government. It is yet to be seen what effect the civil ruling in the UK will have on the criminal proceedings in the Zambian courts. According to Chiluba the judgement in the UK has rendered the criminal proceedings in Zambia academic by heavily prejudicing his case.

On 7 June, the amount, which Chiluba was ordered to repay, was increased to $58m, accounting for interest and legal costs. Several days later, Judge Smith ordered Chiluba to leave his home in Lusaka within two weeks because it was judged to have been bought with money stolen from the public.

Chiluba collapsed on 24 May 2007 due to heart trouble and was hospitalized. He was released from the hospital on 29 May, and on 30 May doctors judged him to be fit to stand trial on the embezzlement charges following an examination. On 31 May, a court ruled that his trial should proceed, although his lawyers argued that it should not due to his poor health. On 27 July he was flown to South Africa to be treated for heart trouble; this had been approved by the government earlier in the month. He was scheduled to appear in court for his trial on 14 August, and he returned to Zambia on 11 August, saying in an interview that he was "surviving on God's will". His spokesman said that his illness made it uncertain whether he would appear in court; in July, it was ruled that, if necessary, Chiluba would participate in the trial through video or a judge would go to his home. On 14 August, Chiluba rejected the idea of participating in the trial through video, saying that it would be illegal.

After appearing briefly in court on 14 August, Chiluba was present for the resumption of trial proceedings on 15 August. Chiluba took breaks during the day for health reasons.

Chiluba's wife Regina was arrested on September 3 for allegedly receiving money and property stolen by Chiluba during his time in office, despite having previously been released after the case against her had been dropped on August 24. Chiluba and his wife protested the arrest.

In May 2008, the government announced that it had recovered nearly 60 million dollars in money and assets allegedly stolen during Chiluba's presidency.

References

See also

• History of Church activities in Zambia