LUSAKA, Sept. 16 — The story sounds like something from a folktale, but it unfolded in a Lusaka courtroom this week.
Two men — a Zambian village chief and a Mozambican national — have been jailed for allegedly trying to kill President Hakainde Hichilema through witchcraft.
Magistrates handed Leonard Phiri (43) and Jasten Mabulesse Candunde (42) a two-year sentence with hard labour after police testified that the pair were caught with charms, including a live chameleon, animal parts and mysterious powders.
Prosecutors said these items were part of a ritual meant to bring harm to the Head of State.
According to police, the men were exposed when a hotel cleaner reported strange noises from their room in Lusaka.
Investigators allege they were hired by Nelson Banda, the brother of controversial opposition politician Emmanuel “Jay Jay” Banda, in exchange for thousands of dollars.
The conviction has revived debate around Zambia’s colonial-era Witchcraft Act of 1914, which criminalises sorcery and the pretence of supernatural powers.
Rights groups and legal experts argue the law is outdated, but many Zambians still believe strongly in witchcraft — giving the case both legal and cultural weight.
For some, the conviction is a necessary stand against threats to national security. For others, it raises troubling questions about whether courts should jail people over beliefs rooted in tradition.
Whatever one’s view, the trial has gripped Zambia, blurring the line between politics, superstition and justice.
(Sources: AP News, The Guardian, Lusaka Times, Tuko Keanya)
