A Lusaka court has handed down two-year prison sentences with hard labour to two men found guilty of attempting to kill President Hakainde Hichilema using witchcraft.
In a case believed to be the first of its kind in Zambia, Leonard Phiri, a Zambian national, and Jasten Mabulesse Candunde from Mozambique, were convicted under the colonial-era Witchcraft Act on Monday.
The men were arrested last December after a cleaner reported hearing bizarre noises in a room. Police later discovered ritual items including a live chameleon, white powder, a red cloth and an animal’s tail. Prosecutors said the pair planned to perform a ritual that would kill the president within five days.
Magistrates ruled that both men had “intended harm” to the head of state, rejecting their claims of innocence. The court’s use of the Witchcraft Act, rarely tested in modern Zambia, has triggered fierce debate about superstition, law, and politics.
President Hichilema, already facing criticism for cracking down on opponents and muzzling dissent, is under further scrutiny. His administration has denied claims that the convictions reflect political interference.
The witchcraft trial also comes amid wider controversy: the unresolved burial dispute of former president Edgar Lungu. His body remains in a South African morgue while his family resists government demands that he be buried in Zambia. Rumours that Hichilema wants Lungu interred on Zambian soil for “occult purposes” have further stoked public suspicion—claims officials dismiss as baseless.
The landmark case highlights the fraught intersection of politics, tradition and power in Zambia, where witchcraft beliefs remain deeply rooted.
