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| Ex-Zambia leader cleared of graft | |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Zambian former president Frederick Chiluba has been cleared of corruption charges after a long-running trial. | |
| He was accused of embezzling $500,000 during his 10-year presidency, but a judge ruled the funds could not be traced to government money. | |
| The Lusaka court delivered its verdict following a six-year trial prolonged by the 63-year-old's health problems. | The Lusaka court delivered its verdict following a six-year trial prolonged by the 63-year-old's health problems. |
| Mr Chiluba's immunity from prosecution was lifted in 2003 by his successor, Levy Mwanawasa, who died last year. | Mr Chiluba's immunity from prosecution was lifted in 2003 by his successor, Levy Mwanawasa, who died last year. |
| Mr Chiluba - who was president of the impoverished southern African nation from 1991 to 2001 - had argued that he was targeted in a political witch hunt backed by the British, Zambia's former colonial rulers. | |
| In a separate case two years ago, the High Court in Britain found Mr Chiluba guilty of defrauding the Zambian government of tens of millions of dollars using London-based bank accounts. | |
| Mr Chiluba has refused to accept the ruling, labelling it "racist". | |
| His wife, Regina Chiluba, was jailed in March for receiving stolen funds while her husband was in office. She is appealing against the sentence. |