Two Convicted In Alleged Witchcraft Plot To Kill President Hichilema
A court in Zambia has sentenced two men to two years in prison for attempting to use witchcraft to kill President Hakainde Hichilema. The men, Leonard Phiri from Zambia and Jasten Mabulesse Candunde from Mozambique, were convicted under the Witchcraft Act after being found with charms, including a live chameleon.
Court ruling
Magistrate Fine Mayambu delivered a strong ruling in Lusaka, saying the pair posed a threat not only to the president but also to the nation.
He declared:
“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.”
The men were sentenced to two years with hard labour, though their sentences will run concurrently, meaning they will serve two years effective from their arrest in December 2024.
Phiri, identified as a village chief, and Candunde claimed to be traditional healers. However, evidence presented in court showed they accepted ownership of the charms.
Magistrate Mayambu noted:
“Phiri further demonstrated that the chameleon’s tail, once pricked and used in the ritual, would cause death to occur within five days.”
Prosecution’s case
The prosecution argued the two men had been hired to target President Hichilema. According to reports from The Guardian on 15 September 2025, authorities said they were discovered after a cleaner reported “strange noises”. They were later found in possession of a live chameleon, red cloth, white powder, and an animal’s tail.
Prosecutors alleged that the hiring was linked to Emmanuel “Jay Jay” Banda, an opposition MP facing trial for robbery, attempted murder, and escaping custody. His brother was named as the one who hired Phiri and Candunde.
Despite their lawyer, Agrippa Malando, pleading for leniency and suggesting a fine, the court rejected the request. Magistrate Mayambu said the law existed to protect society from fear and harm caused by people claiming to have supernatural powers.
He explained:
“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.”
Wider context
The case has attracted significant attention as it is the first recorded trial in Zambia for attempting to use witchcraft against a sitting president.
President Hichilema, who has publicly stated that he does not believe in witchcraft, has not commented on the matter. In August 2025, he told journalist Martine Dennis on the Africa Here & Now podcast:
“Personally I don’t believe in witchcraft, never believed in witchcraft, as a person, as a family, as a Christian.”
The Witchcraft Act, introduced in 1914 during British colonial rule, rarely leads to prosecutions. Lawyer Dickson Jere told the BBC on 15 September 2025 that the law has historically been used to protect vulnerable people, particularly elderly women accused of bewitching others.
The ruling comes at a time of political tension in Zambia, with accusations of witchcraft also surfacing in disputes over the burial of former president Edgar Lungu, who died in South Africa in June 2025.
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