Zambia court says ex-president fit for trial on corruption charges News
Zambia court says ex-president fit for trial on corruption charges

[JURIST] A Zambian court held Thursday that former Zambian President Frederick Chiluba [BBC profile] must go to trial on charges of corruption, despite questions about his health. Lawyers for Chiluba argued that Chiluba was unable to proceed to trial because of a heart condition, but the court held that it "should proceed with this matter to help all other parties involved" after receiving a recommendation from his doctors. Chiluba was admitted to the hospital [AFP report] last week after collapsing in his home, and was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday.

The charges against Chiluba include stealing $488,000 in state funds during his tenure in power from 1991-2002. In 2006, Chiluba asked [JURIST report] the African Union [official website; JURIST news archive] to intervene to halt UK criminal charges [BBC report] filed against him by Zambia related to the alleged funneling of nearly $35 million to private bank accounts in London. Reuters has more.