Frederick Chiluba, the former President of Zambia, has been found guilty by a British High Court judge of plundering £23 million from his people. He used the stolen money to indulge his taste for clothes, jewellery, cars, luxury homes and handmade high-heeled shoes to boost his 5ft height. His people, meanwhile, were struggling to live on an average of 50p a day.

Chiluba spent at least £600,000 on designer clothes bearing his FJT monogram, representing his names Frederick Jacob Titus, Mr. Justice Peter Smith said after a two-year legal battle and a four-month trial. “The most telling example of corruption,” he said, “was the clothing acquired by FJT.”

The former President “had a worldwide reputation as being a smart and expensive dresser. He had his own stylish suits with his initials, FJT, monogrammed on them, a large number of specially made signature shoes and thousands of monogrammed shirts.”

During Chiluba’s ten years in office, from 1991 to 2001, £600,000 was spent at Basile, an exclusive Swiss clothes shop, all of which was stolen from the republic.

The amount of clothing seized by the anti-corruption task force set up by his successor, President Mwana-wasa, in 2002, was “considerable,” the judge said. “First, there were 349 shirts. A large number of these bore the FJT monogram on them and they were from virtually every designer outlet.

“Second, there were 206 jackets and suits. A large number of these were from Basile, bearing the FJT monogram.

“Third, there were 72 pairs of shoes. A large number of these were made by Basile with the FJT logo. All were for Chiluba’s unique personal specification high heels. Many of them were in their original shoe covers and had not been used.”

This extravagant spending came at a time “when the vast majority of Zambians were struggling to live on 50p a day and many could not afford more than one meal a day,” the judge said. Much of the stolen money was unaccounted for, but was shared out to government officials by Chiluba.

The judge said: “The most serious revelation in this case is the cynical and unjustified misappropriation of funds for the private purposes of government officials.”

He added: “The people of Zambia should know that whenever he appears in public wearing some of these clothes, he acquired them with money stolen from them. He was the President at the top of the control of government finances. He was uniquely positioned to prevent any corruption. Instead of preventing corruption, he actively participated in it and ensured it happened. It is a shameful series of actions and he should be ashamed.”

Chiluba took no part in the claims brought against him in London by the Attorney-General of Zambia on behalf of the Republic of Zambia. The judge said that he had been given “numerous opportunities to explain” himself to the Zambian people but had failed to do so. He was paid just over £50,000 in salary during ten years in office and there was no evidence that he had the wealth to buy the clothes he owned. “It was simply stolen from the republic,” the judge said.

The action was brought in London because of the transfer of monies out of Zambia into bank accounts in London, which was at the centre of the wrongdoing by defendants in Zambia, England, Belgium, Switzerland and the US.

Janet Legrand, a partner in DLA Piper, which led the Zambian Government’s claim, said: “This is a major victory for President Mwana-wasa’s battle to stamp out corruption.”

Others found guilty by the judge of conspiracy were Xavier Chungu, former head of the Zambian secret intelligence services; Stella Chibanda, a former senior Ministry of Finance official; Faustin Kabwe and Aaron Chungu, both financial advisers; Meer Care & Desai and Cave Malik & Co., English law firms that laundered the money; and Basile, the Swiss boutique.

The Times of London