Malawi’s former President Muluzi pleads not guilty in corruption case

Malawi’s ex-president: I’m innocent of corruption

BLANTYRE, Malawi — Former President Bakili Muluzi has pleaded not guilty to 12 counts of corruption and theft.

Muluzi appeared in the High Court in Blantyre Tuesday, five years after he was arrested and charged with corruption following allegations that he took for his personal use $12 million in development aid donated by Taiwan, Morocco, Libya and other countries.

Legal wrangling and claims by Muluzi he is too ill to stand trial have delayed the case.

Since stepping down from office in 2004 after two five-year terms, Muluzi has been in and out of British and South African hospitals complaining of back problems.