LUSAKA, Zambia — A court in Zambia has sentenced two men to two years in prison for attempting to use witchcraft to kill President Hakainde Hichilema.
The two men, Zambian Leonard Phiri and Mozambican Jasten Mabulesse Candunde, were convicted under the country’s Witchcraft Act after being arrested in December with charms in their possession, including a live chameleon.
Magistrate Fine Mayambu delivered a stern verdict, stating, “It is my considered view that the convicts were not only the enemy of the head of state but were also enemies of all Zambians.”
This marked the first time anyone had been put on trial for attempting to use witchcraft against a Zambian president, a case that has been closely followed across the country.
The prosecution alleged that Phiri and Candunde were hired by a fugitive former Member of Parliament to “bewitch” President Hichilema. Despite their insistence that they were bona fide traditional healers, the court found them guilty on two counts under the Witchcraft Act.
Magistrate Mayambu explained, “The two accepted ownership of the charms. Phiri further demonstrated that the chameleon’s tail, once pricked and used in the ritual, would cause death to occur within five days.”
The magistrate noted that while witchcraft may not be scientifically proven, many people in Zambia, as in other African countries, believe in it. He said the law was designed to protect society from the fear and harm caused by those who claim to have supernatural powers.
“The question is not whether the accused are wizards or actually possess supernatural powers. It is whether they represented themselves as such, and the evidence clearly shows they did,” Magistrate Mayambu said.
The men’s lawyer, Agrippa Malando, requested leniency, noting that his clients were first-time offenders, but the request was rejected.
The two were sentenced to two years in prison for “professing” witchcraft and a concurrent six-month sentence for possessing charms. This means they will serve a total of two years, effective from their arrest in December 2024.
President Hichilema, who has previously stated that he does not believe in witchcraft, has not commented on the case. According to lawyer Dickson Jere, the Witchcraft Act was passed during the colonial era in 1914.
He noted that prosecutions for witchcraft are “very rarely” carried out, but that the law has been used to protect elderly women who often face mob justice after being accused of bewitching someone.
Witchcraft has also featured prominently in the public conversation surrounding the protracted dispute between the government and the family of the late President Edgar Lungu over his funeral arrangements.
Some people believe that the government’s insistence that he be buried in Zambia, against his family’s wishes, may be for “occult reasons,” an accusation the government has denied. Lungu’s body has remained in a South African morgue since his death in June due to the failure to reach an agreement on the burial.
