Court jails ex-president’s son over phone

The son of a former President of Zambia, Frederick Chiluba, has been sentenced to eight months imprisonment with hard labour by a Magistrates’ court in Zambia for stealing a mobile phone.

Frederick Chiluba Jr was convicted of stealing a Samsung S7 edge, valued at $843, in 2017.

Chiluba’s rule in Zambia from 1991 to 2001 was dogged by corruption allegations, leading to his immunity from prosecution being lifted after he left office.

He was prosecuted for alleged embezzlement in 2002 but acquitted after a six-year trial.

In 2007, he was convicted of fraud by a London court and ordered to repay $58m (£36m) in embezzled funds, but the ruling was never enforced in Zambia.