Two men have been jailed in Zambia for attempting to take the life of President Hakainde Hichilema using witchcraft.
The judgment came following a ruling by a court in the capital city, Lusaka
On Monday, September 16, Magistrates sentenced Leonard Phiri, a Zambian, and Jasten Mabulesse Candunde, a Mozambican national, to two years imprisonment with hard labour. It is the first conviction in Zambia for an alleged attempt on the president’s life through supernatural means.
The men were arrested in December after a cleaner raised an alarm over unusual sounds coming from a room. Security officers later found them with items believed to be for ritual purposes, a live chameleon, an animal’s tail, a red cloth, and an unidentified white powder.
Phiri later admitted in court that the collection of objects was intended for a ritual “that would cause death within five days.”
Authorities charged both men under the Witchcraft Act, a colonial-era law introduced during British rule that continues to criminalise witchcraft-related practices.
The ruling comes at a politically sensitive moment for President Hichilema, who has faced mounting accusations of using the courts to stifle dissent and clamp down on free speech.
Witchcraft has also been linked to the dispute over the remains of former president Edgar Lungu, whose body is still kept in a South African morgue. While the government insists he must be buried in Zambia, his family opposes the move.
Rumours that the current president wants to use his predecessor’s body for occult purposes have intensified the standoff — allegations the government has dismissed as baseless.
Source: thenewsroomafrica.com.