Zambia has declared a national period of mourning before the state funeral of former president Frederick Chiluba.
|||Lusaka - Zambia's corruption-tainted former president Frederick Chiluba, who died on Saturday, will be given a state funeral, the cabinet said on Sunday, announcing a week of national mourning.
“The burial will take place on June 27 in Lusaka,” the secretary to the cabinet, Joshua Kanganja, said in a statement.
“President Banda of the Republic of Zambia has declared Monday June 20 to June 27 a period of national mourning for the late president Frederick Chiluba,” said Kanganja.
The 68-year-old leader ruled the southern African country from 1991 to 2001, he died at his home on Saturday morning after suffering a seizure.
He had been battling acute heart and kidney problems.
“During the period of national mourning, all flags will fly at half mast until the funeral. Radio stations should play solemn music between 6am and 6pm,” said the statement.
The cabinet also took a decision to postpone all public activities of entertainment and leisure during the period of mourning.
Chiluba was credited with turning the page on the autocratic rule of the country's founding father Kenneth Kaunda but his image was later tainted charges of embezzling state funds.
He was tried for stealing public money amounting to $500 000 during his time in office but later acquitted of the charges in 2008.
In 2010, a Zambian judge dismissed a ruling by a London court that found him and his associates guilty of siphoning $46-million from the state coffers.
If the Zambian courts recognised the ruling, he would have had to pay back the money.
Kaunda was on Sunday among the mourners who arrived at his home to pay their respects.
“Chiluba was a great unionist and died at a very tender age,” said Kaunda. - Sapa-AFP
Source: http://www.iol.co.za/chiluba-will-be-given-a-state-burial-1.1085225
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