16.9.2025
Two men accused of plotting to kill Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema with witchcraft has been slapped with a two-year jail sentence by a court in Lusaka.
The two men identified as Leonard Phiri a citizen of Zambia and Jasten Mabulesse Candunde from Mozambique, were arrested in December 2024 and has been facing trials in a case that has left Zambians baffled, it is the first time anyone would be put on trial and convicted in the country based on allegations of witchcraft.
The two men got into trouble after a cleaner reported hearing strange noises in a room. The men were found in possession of a live chameleon, an unidentified white powder, a red cloth and an animal’s tail, all of which they reportedly planned on using in a ritual that would cause death “within five days” as explained by Phiri, according to a magistrate.
The court convicted both men under the Witchcraft Act, a law criminalising witchcraft, dating back to the colonial era under British rule.
Witchcraft has also played a major role in the ongoing dispute concerning the body of late president Edgar Lungu, who is currently awaiting his funeral in a morgue in South Africa as the Zambian government insists that he should be buried in Zambia despite this going against his family’s wishes.
Hichilema’s insistence on Lungu’s burial in Zambia has fueled rumours that the president would want to use his former rival’s body for “occult purposes”, an accusation denied by the government.
Zambia President Hakainde Hichilema...threatened by witches.