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Zambian Mischief
| Date: |
28 July 2002 12:00 |
| Producer: |
Kevin Harris
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| Show: | Carte Blanche |
Ex-Zambian president Dr Frederick Chiluba is a tired man. In the last fortnight his world has been turned upside down - he has been accused of stealing millions of dollars of his country's money.
Frederick Chiluba: 'I can assure you, as the sun rises in the East and sets in the West, if they'd cared to bother and check thoroughly, I didn't take the money - not one cent of the money they are talking about.'
Chiluba really began to feel the heat on July 11th when President Levy Mwanawasa - Zambia's new president - turned on him and accused him of corruption in a special sitting of parliament. The president listed one accusation after another, even producing supposed evidence of the alleged shady deals: $20-million deposit on an arms deal with nothing to show for it; $1-million to Chiluba's tailor; $35-million for the sale of state copper mines ... and the list goes on.
Chiluba: 'How can a president be in charge of selling the mines and receiving the money - in which account? How can he be in charge of oil tankers disappearing? A president of a country - you must be kidding.'
In the sitting President Mwanawasa asked parliament to lift Chiluba's immunity from prosecution. When news broke on the streets that parliament had voted overwhelmingly in favour, it appeared the protestors were jubilant.
Chiluba however was dismissive.
Chiluba: 'I can tell you, men and women from different walks of life demonstrating? ... I heard and I saw rent-a-crowds of students. Rent-a-crowds of students.'
While the accusations of corruption were bad enough, it was the betrayal by Mwanawasa that really stung him. After 10 years in office, Chiluba had tried to run for a third term. When that failed, reports say he handpicked Mwanawasa, trusting he could control him.
Chiluba: 'This turnaround is something I least expected and perhaps he has reasons for it. I only think it's a betrayal of my confidence.'
But backstabbing is part of the game. When Chiluba came to office he threw his long-standing political opponent Kenneth Kaunda into jail and there's no love lost between these two ex-presidents.
Kenneth Kaunda: 'He has never been an honest man. The poor fellow perhaps needs our sympathy or pity. He thought he could just hide all these dirty things which he was quite afraid would come out if he left office.'
Ben Mwila is one of Zambia's richest men and knows all about betrayal. Having thrown the full weight of his financial muscle into Chiluba's campaign, six years later Chiluba turned on him and kicked him out of parliament.
On the one hand, Mwila is the president-maker - on the other, he has his eye on the throne. From the sidelines he watched Chiluba make possibly the biggest blunder of his career.
Ben Mwila: 'President Chiluba single-handedly hand picked him. I think to an extent he believed that he was (inaudible). I told him then that his insistence on choosing a successor would land him into trouble.'
And indeed it did. When it was announced that Mwanawasa had won the election, Zambians were convinced the elections were rigged. So too was Ben Mwila, who believed Mwanawasa had robbed him of the presidency.
Editor of independent newspaper The Post, Fred Membe, has been documenting the corruption, betrayal and political intrigue.
Fred Membe: 'The way he came into office is questionable - somebody who had retired from politics; Chiluba goes and picks him up; rides him on the back of a very dirty horse. Everybody would question him - until when he cleans himself up, and I think he is doing that.'
So, is Mwanawasa's zero tolerance of corruption for real? Is he the good guy and is Chiluba the villain? We were keen to speak to the president about the accusations against Chiluba but, at the last minute, he cancelled a confirmed interview. We assumed it was because he too was being scrutinised - and a petition questioning the way he had come to office was under way.
'The present government is an illegitimate government; it was not properly elected by the Zambian people. People have been bribed with cash, cheap mealie meal and, some of the votes were simply shelved. Now, in fact, we hear about boxes that were thrown into the lakes.'
In question, and uppermost in the minds of the people, is the belief that President Mwanawasa used large amounts of government funds to finance his lavish election campaign.
Mwila: 'The lavish election campaign they carried could have never come from anybody's pocket, except from government.'
From Kaunda to Mwanawasa via Chiluba, claims of corruption are the one constant. Despite billions of dollars of international aid, Zambians remain poor and endemic corruption has filtered into every area of Zambian life. We spoke to Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace's Lora Miti.
Lora Miti: 'Corruption became a way of life. I think the slush fund, which you may have heard of - the president was dishing out large amounts of money to schools, to hospitals, to individuals - it became accepted that to get anything done you had to pay. So you go to a hospital - you have to pay for someone to give you a card which might not be given to someone else, and then to see the doctor. You go to a school - because there are no places you have to pay the headmaster, you have to pay the teacher. So, the person on the street began to accept corruption and believe that that's the only way to do business, to get anything done.'
And on the streets if the corruption isn't visible, the poverty is.
Miti: 'Most Zambians are out of work. The employment rate is really high, so they blame Chiluba. It's almost 'Ah, now we have a reason for all our suffering'.'
Chiluba: 'If anybody went round and said, 'Look, you're hungry, you're not eating because this man stole your money', you don't need to find facts that prove your case. The fact that people are hungry, they would rise and lynch someone.'
What has also infuriated Zambians is decay in the schools and the university, while Chiluba sends his children to the best private schools overseas. To get a better idea, we went to the University of Zambia where we met third year law student Maggie Banda in the run down hostel.
Maggie Banda: 'The conditions generally in terms of facilities and sanitation are not very good. Like currently in my block, we do not have cisterns in the toilet. Every time you want to use the bathroom you have to go and use a bucket. We don't have hot water. I don't know anyone who has ever told me that the university has ever had hot water.'
In hot water himself, Dr Chiluba nevertheless gets by with a little help from his friends.
Chiluba: 'Managing my children is like managing my own party - we don't have a lot of money but we enjoy the goodwill of people who've become friends of the party. The president can afford to have friends who can help.'
Miti: 'Not that education is bad - if I could afford to, I'd love my son to go to a school somewhere, which would give him a head start over other kids his age. The worst thing is that the schools in the country are run down. There are no books in schools, the teachers are paid next to nothing and everything has broken down. So, if they want to send their kids abroad they can - but they should ensure that the education system in Zambia works.'
By last week it was clear Mwanawasa's revelations had earned him support from ordinary Zambians.
Member of the public: 'It was said by President Mwanawasa that most of the money was squandered by the previous government - but we are not sure if that is true or is not true. The court will judge whether the former president is guilty or not guilty.'
Five days after parliament lifted his immunity, Chiluba's arrest had seemed imminent - but he got a high court injunction to prevent being jailed. Instead he barricaded himself behind high walls protected by nattily dressed security guards. Meanwhile, it looked like Mwanawasa was backtracking - saying he would pardon Chiluba if he gave back all the money.
'To me it's a ruse to legitimise, first of all, his presidency, because generally the Zambians have not accepted his election. So, he's using this as a trump card because in the party, the MIP, Chiluba has still got support.'
Chiluba: 'If he's reconciliatory, I would ask him one thing: 'Why doesn't he investigate thoroughly whether truly 35-million kwatcha for the sale of mines didn't come in. Because for me, it's not being pardoned which matters, it's justice which matters. Let him first investigate these cases thoroughly and then he can say, 'Right, I've investigated this, you are clear on Number 1, clear on Number 2, clear on Number 3, clear on Number 4, Number 5 ... Number 6 - there is a bit of doubt, but I'll pardon it'. That I'll understand. That is what you call pardoning. All I'm saying is, let the state machinery go into these investigations because I'm certain - very, very sure - I was never involved in what the president was saying.'
And by Friday this week The Post reported that President Mwanawasa was concerned that the state might have to foot the bill for a new jail - in order to keep his Excellency Dr Frederick Chiluba in the style to which he had so obviously become accustomed.
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER:While every attempt has been made to ensure this transcript or summary is accurate, Carte Blanche or its agents cannot be held liable for any claims arising out of inaccuracies caused by human error or electronic fault. This transcript was typed from a transcription recording unit and not from an original script, so due to the possibility of mishearing and the difficulty, in some cases, of identifying individual speakers, errors cannot be ruled out.
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