LUSAKA, ZAMBIA — Two men have been sentenced to two years in prison by a Zambian court for attempting to use witchcraft to kill President Hakainde Hichilema.
Leonard Phiri, a Zambian, and Jasten Mabulesse Candunde, a Mozambican, were convicted under the country’s Witchcraft Act. They were arrested in December 2024 with various charms, including a live chameleon.
The prosecution alleged that the two were hired by a former Member of Parliament, who is currently a fugitive, to bewitch the president.
Magistrate Fine Mayambu said in his ruling that while witchcraft is not scientifically proven, the law exists to protect society from the fear it causes. “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,” he said. The magistrate added that the men’s actions made them “the enemy of the head of state” and all Zambians.
Mr. Phiri and Mr. Candunde were given a two-year sentence for “professing” witchcraft and a concurrent six-month sentence for possessing charms. They will serve a total of two years in prison. Their lawyer, Agrippa Malando, had pleaded for a fine instead, arguing that his clients were first-time offenders.
According to lawyer Dickson Jere, the Witchcraft Act dates back to colonial rule in 1914. He said that while prosecutions for practising witchcraft were rare, the law has helped protect elderly women who are sometimes targeted with accusations of bewitching someone.
The case comes amid a separate public dispute over the burial of former President Edgar Lungu, who died in June. Some have accused the government of delaying his burial for “occult reasons,” a claim the government has denied. President Hichilema has previously stated he does not believe in witchcraft and has not commented on the court case.
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