A Zambian court has sentenced two men to two years in prison for attempting to use witchcraft to kill President Hakainde Hichilema.
Leonard Phiri of Zambia and Jasten Mabulesse Candunde, a Mozambican, were convicted under the Witchcraft Act after their arrest in December 2024. Authorities said they were caught with charms, including a live chameleon, allegedly intended for a ritual targeting the president.
Magistrate Fine Mayambu, delivering the ruling, described the men as “enemies of all Zambians,” noting that this was the first case of witchcraft being used in an attempt against a sitting president.
Prosecutors alleged that the duo was hired by a fugitive ex-MP to carry out the act. Both men insisted they were traditional healers, but the court rejected their defense.
“They accepted ownership of the charms. Phiri even demonstrated how a chameleon’s tail, once pricked, would supposedly cause death within five days,” Magistrate Mayambu said.
Despite pleas for leniency from their lawyer, Agrippa Malando, who asked for a fine instead of jail time, the court imposed a custodial sentence. In addition to the two-year term for “professing” witchcraft, the men received six months for possession of charms. The sentences will run concurrently, meaning they will serve two years in total, effective from their arrest.
While witchcraft remains widely believed in Zambia and other African countries, the magistrate stressed that the law aims to protect society from fear and exploitation.
President Hichilema, who has previously said he does not believe in witchcraft, has not commented on the case.
The Witchcraft Act, first enacted in 1914 under colonial rule, is rarely used in prosecutions but has historically served to protect vulnerable groups, particularly elderly women, from mob violence after being accused of sorcery.
The case comes as witchcraft continues to feature prominently in public debates in Zambia, including the ongoing dispute over the burial of late President Edgar Lungu. His family insists he should not be buried in Zambia, but some have accused the government of pushing for it due to “occult reasons”—a claim the authorities deny.
