JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Rukia Lumumba struck a defiant tone Thursday afternoon outside the federal courthouse in downtown Jackson, maintaining her brother’s innocence and declaring she would keep fighting and win re-election.

Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba faces five federal charges in connection with a Jackson bribery scheme. He is scheduled to go to trial early next year.

If he is convicted or agrees to plead guilty, he will be required to resign as mayor under Mississippi state statute.

Lumumba is charged with the following:

• Conspiracy: carries up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.
• Federal program bribery: carries up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.
• Using an interstate facility to assist organized crime: carries up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.
• Honest Services Wire Fraud: carries no more than 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.
• Money laundering: carries no more than 20 years, a $500,000 fine and no more than three years of supervised release.

In August, former Ward 2 Councilwoman Angelique Lee resigned just hours before pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery as part of the same scheme.

If the mayor is forced to leave office, an interim mayor would be appointed from the members of the Jackson City Council, and that person would hold the position until a new mayor is elected.

Jackson has had two acting mayors since 2009: Dr. Leslie McLemore, who served the remaining three months of the late Mayor Frank Melton’s term, and Charles Tillman, who served after the death of first Mayor Chokwe Lumumba.

“I was president of the council, but the council members could have selected anyone from the council to serve,” McLemore recalled. “I think they chose me mainly because I was president of the council.”

Melton died on May 7, 2009, two days after losing his re-election bid.

Because McLemore did not run for another term on the Jackson City Council, he retired after Mayor Harvey Johnson took office.

Tillman was also council president when he took office in 2014, eight months into Lumumba’s only term.

He returned to the council after a special election was held to fill the remainder of the term.

“You don’t give up your position on the council. You are interim mayor and council member. “So you’re really playing a double role,” he said.

According to the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office, a special election is not required if less than six months remain in a term. However, an election must be scheduled if the remaining term exceeds that.

Following Lee’s resignation in Augustthe council had to call special elections within 10 days. The election cannot be held less than 30 days before the resignation nor more than 45 days afterward.

Ward Seven Councilwoman Virgi Lindsay is the current council president. She declined to say whether she would want the job.

“It would be up to the council members if they wanted me to serve and they would require a majority vote,” he said. “I don’t expect that to become a problem.”

For his part, McLemore said he saw the role primarily as a caretaker, someone who would “make sure the train was on time.”

“I wasn’t there to take any new initiative. I tried to move forward, follow up on the things that were already underway. And one of my personal concerns during that time was dealing with dilapidated housing,” he said. “But other than that, I really tried to maintain the city.”

As for Friday, Lumumba maintained his innocence, telling reporters outside the Thad Cochran Federal Courthouse on Thursday: “I will not proceed as a guilty man. “I will continue to handle Jackson’s business, while my attorneys continue to handle the business of these court proceedings.”

Lumumba is currently free on $10,000 unsecured bail and is expected to go to trial on January 6.

However, it is unclear whether the trial will continue on that date.

Other federal bribery cases in Jackson have continued for months or years.

Former Hinds County Sheriff Marshand Crisler went on trial earlier this week, more than a year and a half after being indicted for bribery. He was found guilty of two charges on Friday.

Meanwhile, former Canton City Engineer Rudy Warnock won’t go to trial until June 2025 after his bribery case was continued more than a dozen times. He was charged with a bribery scheme in 2021. He faces three counts of conspiracy to commit bribery. and one count of wire fraud.

Want more WLBT news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

Do you see a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please Click here to report it and include the story headline in your email.

Copyright 2024 WLBT. All rights reserved.