A court in Zambia has handed down a two-year prison sentence to two men found guilty of attempting to employ witchcraft with the intent to harm President Hakainde Hichilema.
As reported by the BBC, Leonard Phiri, a citizen of Zambia, and Jasten Mabulesse Candunde, originally from Mozambique, were convicted under the country’s Witchcraft Act following their arrest in December 2024. Authorities revealed that the duo, suspected to be traditional sorcerers, were caught with various magical items, including a live chameleon.
In his ruling, Judge Fine Mayambu emphasized that the evidence clearly indicated the defendants’ intention to use these mystical objects against the president. “I find that these individuals were not only adversaries of the nation’s leader but also posed a threat to all citizens of Zambia,” the judge stated.
This case, which attracted significant public interest, marks the first time in Zambia that an alleged witchcraft attempt targeting a sitting president has been prosecuted. Officials disclosed that the accused were allegedly commissioned by a fugitive former parliamentarian to carry out the act against Hichilema.
Although the men claimed to be traditional healers, the court noted their admission of possessing the magical items. Phiri demonstrated how piercing the chameleon’s tail and incorporating it into a ritual could purportedly result in death within five days.
Their defense attorney, Agrippa Malando, requested a more lenient sentence, suggesting fines instead of imprisonment since this was their first offense. However, the court dismissed this appeal. Judge Mayambu underscored that the Witchcraft Act, enacted in 1914, remains vital in protecting society from fear and exploitation.
“The critical issue is not whether the accused truly possess supernatural abilities, but whether they presented themselves as such, which the evidence confirms,” the judge concluded.
Both defendants received concurrent sentences: two years for practicing witchcraft and six months for possession of magical items, effectively serving a two-year term starting from their December 2024 detention.
Legal analyst Dickson Jere remarked that prosecutions under the Witchcraft Act are uncommon, noting the law’s original purpose was to safeguard vulnerable populations, especially elderly women, from violent accusations of sorcery.
This conviction occurs amid ongoing sensitivities surrounding witchcraft in Zambia, which has also surfaced in controversies over the burial of former President Edgar Lungu, who passed away in South Africa in June. The government’s insistence on interring him in Zambia, contrary to his family’s wishes, has sparked allegations of occult motivations behind the decision.
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