“Enemies of the Nation”: Zambian Court Jails Two Over Witchcraft Plot to Kill President Hichilema

 

Zambia President Hakainde Hichilema.

A court in Zambia has sentenced two men to two years in prison with hard labour after finding them guilty of plotting to use witchcraft to harm President Hakainde Hichilema.

The convicts, identified as Jasten Mabulesse Candunde, a Mozambican national, and Leonard Phiri, a Zambian village chief, were arrested in December after authorities found them in possession of charms, including a live chameleon. Prosecutors argued that the items were intended to be used in rituals designed to harm the head of state.

Delivering the ruling in Lusaka, Magistrate Fine Mayambu declared that the two men posed a threat not only to the president but also to the entire nation. 

“The motive of the crime was to kill the head of state,” he said. “The convicts were not only enemies of the head of state but all Zambians.”

The men were charged with professing knowledge of witchcraft and possession of charms, both offences under Zambia’s Witchcraft Act. The court ordered that their two-year sentence with hard labour be counted from the date of their arrest.

The prosecution further alleged that the pair had been recruited by the brother of opposition MP Emmanuel “Jay Jay” Banda, who is currently facing separate charges of robbery, attempted murder, and escaping custody.

The case has once again sparked debate in Zambia about the intersection between traditional practices and the law, with many questioning how witchcraft is treated within the country’s justice system.

Reporting by: Babz Abdul Raheem N.
Date: September 16, 2025