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Two men have been sentenced to prison in Zambia after being found guilty of attempting to use witchcraft in a plot against President Hakainde Hichilema.
The Lusaka magistrate’s court handed down a two-year jail term to Zambian national Leonard Phiri and Mozambican citizen Jasten Mabulesse Candunde, who were convicted under the country’s Witchcraft Act. The pair were arrested in December 2024 after authorities found them in possession of ritual items, including charms and a live chameleon.
Court Ruling and Charges
Delivering judgment, Magistrate Fine Mayambu said the case went beyond an attack on the head of state, describing the convicted men as “enemies of all Zambians.”
Prosecutors argued that the two were recruited by a fugitive former parliamentarian to cast harmful spells on the president. During proceedings, the court heard that Phiri and Candunde claimed to be traditional healers but admitted to owning the charms. Evidence presented included testimony that a ritual using a chameleon’s tail was intended to cause death within days.
Despite their pleas for leniency as first-time offenders, the court rejected their lawyer’s request for a fine instead of imprisonment. Both men received a two-year sentence for professing witchcraft and an additional six months for possessing charms, but the sentences will run concurrently, meaning they will serve only two years in total.
Beliefs, Law, and Social Impact
Magistrate Mayambu acknowledged that witchcraft remains widely believed in Zambia and across many African societies, despite lacking scientific validation. He stressed that the law was designed not to prove supernatural powers but to protect society from fear, intimidation, and exploitation by those claiming mystical abilities.
“The question is not whether the accused were true wizards,” Mayambu explained. “It is whether they represented themselves as such, and the evidence shows they did.”
The Witchcraft Act, dating back to colonial legislation introduced in 1914, is rarely enforced but has historically served to shield vulnerable groups, particularly older women, from violent reprisals when accused of sorcery in local communities.
Political and Cultural Context
President Hichilema, who has publicly stated that he does not believe in witchcraft, has not commented on the case. Legal experts note that while prosecutions under the Witchcraft Act are unusual, the ruling underscores ongoing tensions between traditional belief systems and modern governance in Zambia.
The issue of witchcraft has also emerged in other high-profile national debates. Disagreements over the burial of former President Edgar Lungu, who died in South Africa in June 2025, have sparked speculation about occult motives after the government insisted on repatriating his body for burial against his family’s wishes, a claim the state has firmly denied.
Broader Implications
The conviction of Phiri and Candunde has stirred public debate in Zambia about the relevance of colonial-era laws and the role of cultural practices in modern justice systems. While some view the ruling as necessary for safeguarding public order, others question whether legislation rooted in superstition should remain on the statute books more than a century after its introduction.
For now, the case marks a historic first: never before has an attempt to harm a sitting Zambian president through witchcraft been prosecuted in a court of law.