LUSAKA: Former Zambian president Rupiah Banda has started appearing before government's Joint Investigating Wing after his immunity from prosecution was removed by Parliament last Friday.Banda thus becomes the second former Zambian head of state to lose his immunity from prosecution after deceased second president, Frederick Chiluba, who was stripped of his in July 2002.Within days of losing his immunity, Banda was on Monday summoned to appear before the Joint Investigations Wing, which had earlier called him for questioning when his immunity was still in force.
Lawyers opposed to the move argued then that it was irregular to question Banda as he was legally protected by the immunity. Zambia's shortest-serving president, who ruled the country for only three years between 2008 and 2011, has been linked to Chiluba's acquittal in a case of corruption involving US $500 million (P 4 billion).He now faces charges of corruption, money laundering and fraud preferred against him by Justice Minister Wynter Kabimba. Before he died, Banda's MMD appointed Chiluba a consultant on politics and development in the run-up to the September 2011 presidential elections and the state did not appeal against the London court's verdict against Chiluba.
