MWANAWASA ASKS PARLIAMENT TO CANCEL CHILUBA�S IMMUNITY

LUSAKA, Zambia _ Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, in a bold, courageous move for African leaders, urged Parliament on Thursday to remove the immunity of former President Frederick Chiluba so he could face trial on charges of corruption and abuse of power.

Levy Mwanawasa, who is Chiluba�s handpicked successor, alleged that the former leader had been involved in corrupt deals that cost the government tens of millions of dollars during his 10-year reign.

Mwanawasa told Parliament in a special session that Chiluba, several former ministers and other high-ranking public officials embezzled tens of thousands of dollars. In one case, Zambia lost US$ 25 million paid to a Congolese dealer for the supply of military equipment that has never been delivered to date.

The president also disclosed that a number of officials � including the country�s ambassador to the United States Attan Shansonga _ received dubious payments for duties they did not perform.

Alluding to the infamous Zambia National Commercial Bank (ZNCB) London account code-named, ZAMTROP, through which millions of US dollars were paid to individuals for unknown reasons, Mwanawasa named several top officials as recipients.

Among them are former Information minister Vernon Mwaanga who got $360,000, former Foreign Affairs Minister Katele Kalumba ($8,000), Attorney General Bonaventure Mutale ($7,000), former Chief Justice Matthew Ngulube ($168,000), Chiluba's daughter Helen ($ 90,000), Fred Chiluba jr. ($10,000).

The move to prosecute Chiluba comes as a new generation of African leaders is pledging good governance in exchange for Western aid, trade and investment.

In South Africa this week, the toothless Organization of African Unity was replaced with the African Union, which has authority _ at least on paper _ to intervene in the internal affairs of its member nations to stop dictators and human rights violations.

Many African countries also have embraced the New Partnership for Africa�s Development, an economic revival plan that calls for African nations to root out corruption and promote openness.

The only former head of state to face prosecution so far was the Central African Republic�s Emperor Jean-Bedel Bokassa, who was sentenced to death for massacring children and for cannibalism in 1979. The sentence later was commuted to life in prison, and he was released three years before he died in 1996.

This week, university students boycotted classes while waving placards that read, �Arrest and jail Chiluba. Abolish corruption.� And on Thursday, Zambia�s foreign minister _ a Chiluba loyalist _ resigned over questionable financial dealings during the Chiluba administration.

Chiluba and his Movement for Multiparty Democracy came to power in Zambia�s first democratic elections in 1991, after 27 years under strongman Kenneth Kaunda. At the time, the former British colony was seen as a model for African democracy.

Chiluba became a darling of the West by opening the economy to foreign investment and privatizing state-owned firms. But allegations of misuse of public funds soon surfaced. The watchdog group Transparency International ranked Zambia last year as one of the world�s most corrupt nations, in the same company as Russia, Nigeria and Pakistan.

Today, 85 percent of the nation�s 10 million people live on less than $1 a day, despite the abundance of copper and other natural resources.

Last year, Chiluba tried to change the constitution so that it would allow him a third term in office, but he backed down after street demonstrations.

Mwanawasa was widely seen as Chiluba�s puppet when he took power in January after an election that international monitors and opposition politicians said was deeply flawed. Instead, the 53-year-old lawyer and MMD stalwart vowed to root out corruption and distanced himself from his former benefactor.

Going after Chiluba could have political consequences for the new president. Many Chiluba allies in the MMD are angry with Mwanawasa. Two weeks ago, Mwanawasa publicly announced of a plot that was to assassinate him and topple his government.