Zambia's corruption-tainted ex-president Chiluba dies

LUSAKA (AFP) - Zambia's former president Frederick Chiluba, credited with turning the page on the autocratic rule of founding father Kenneth Kaunda but later accused of plundering state coffers, died on Saturday.

Chiluba, 68, died at his home shortly after midnight after suffering a seizure, his spokesman Emmanuel Mwamba said.

Weeping mourners have gathered outside his house in the suburb of Kabulonga east of capital Lusaka and his body has been taken to a mortuary, according to Mwamba.

He said the diminutive leader -- only 1.5 metres (just under five feet) tall -- had felt unwell on Friday afternoon. "He had a seizure, the doctor tried to resuscitate him for 10 minutes, but realised he was dead."

Chiluba had been suffering from acute heart and kidney problems, often visiting South Africa for medical care.

"This is a tragic loss, he took a step further to develop this country," said Richard Shakala, Chiluba's spokesman during his presidency.

"He had a vision and worked hard even under criticism," Shakala said.

The office of incumbent President Rupiah Banda is yet to comment on his passing.

Chiluba led the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy, a coalition of unions, civic and church groups as well as former Kaunda loyalists who had grown disillusioned with the founding father's autocratic style.

Initially welcomed by the West who had struggled to get on with the leftist Kaunda, Chiluba won praise for his emphasis on democracy, human rights and governmental transparency.

But his image was tainted by a lengthy corruption trial, stemming from abuse of authority and theft of public funds amounting to $500,000 while in office from 1991 to 2001.

In 2007 the Zambian government imposed a travel ban on him after his two co-defendants, including former intelligence chief Xavier Chungu, fled the country.

Chiluba consistently denied any wrongdoing, accusing his hand-picked successor president Levy Mwanawasa of trying to destroy his legacy through an anti-corruption crusade.

Last year a judge in Zambia dismissed a 2007 ruling by a British court that found him and his associates guilty of stealing $46 million in public funds during his presidency.

A Zambian court in 2009 acquitted him of charges that he embezzled 500,000 dollars in public funds.

Chiluba's exact date of birth was never confirmed, but he is believed to have been born in 1942 in what is now Zambia's northern neighbour, the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In his teenage years, Chiluba worked as a bus conductor and sisal cutter in neighbouring Tanzania before making his way to the newly independent Zambia, where he first came to prominence as chairman of the once powerful Zambia Congress of Trade Unions which he headed for 17 years.

He is not known to have had any formal education.

Chiluba is survived by his widow Regina, ex-wife Vera Tembo and nine children.

Funeral arrangements have not been announced.