Zambia's ex-leader 'stole millions'

The former president of Zambia Frederick Chiluba was escorted to a police station and questioned by anti-corruption officers yesterday over claims that he looted millions of pounds - possibly hundreds of millions - from state coffers.

Riot police sealed off roads after several thousand onlookers gathered to watch the humiliation of a former head of state who was once the darling of the west.

Mr Chiluba, 59, who was democratically elected and ruled for a decade until stepping aside peacefully in December 2001, has denied wrongdoing and said the inquiry was a witch-hunt by the successor whom he anointed, President Levy Mwanawasa.

Lawyers accompanied him to the police station in the capital Lusaka. Mikatazo Wakumelo, a personal assistant, said Mr Chiluba was likely to be charged.

The country's anti-corruption task force said Mr Chiluba could face more than 100 charges, including corruption and theft of a motor vehicle.

In addition to allegations that public money was funnelled to relatives via a London bank account used by Zambia's intelligence service, Mr Chiluba has been implicated in an arms deal in which £12m went missing. Some 34 bank accounts have been closed, and assets seized.

Last year, Vera Chiluba attempted to sue her ex-husband for a £1.5bn divorce settlement - a sum not far off the southern African country's gross national product - claiming she knew the extent of his alleged fortune. Her petition was thrown out of court.

Mr Chiluba's election, after decades of rule by Kenneth Kaunda, led to a wave of optimism which dissipated as economic problems deepened.

Mr Mwanawasa has offered a presidential pardon if his successor repays the money he allegedly stole, saying it would be expensive to imprison him in conditions befitting a former leader.