Chiluba files appeal to move corruption trial

Former Zambian president Frederick Chiluba, charged with 65 counts of theft, on Friday filed a notice of appeal in the Supreme Court to have his trial moved from lower courts to the High Court. The charges relate to his conduct while in office and follow the lifting of his presidential immunity from prosecution by Zambia's parliament. Associated Press reported that the trial was scheduled to have started on Friday. Investigations into Chiluba's conduct while in office were set in motion by the man he picked to succeed him, President Levy Mwanawasa. The former president was arrested in February after the Supreme Court ruled that the decision to lift his immunity should not be reversed. Chiluba's subsequent application to the High Court to have his trial moved, on the grounds that he would not get a fair trial in subordinate courts, was also turned down.