Witchcraft plot to kill Zambian president ends in prison sentence
Two men have been sentenced to prison in Zambia for planning to use witchcraft to assassinate President Hakainde Hichilema.
The case, first reported in December 2024, involved Leonard Phiri, a local chief, and Jasten Mabulesse Candunde, a Mozambican national.
The duo was arrested after a cleaner reported strange noises, prompting an investigation. Authorities said they were caught with a live chameleon and several items described as “assorted charms” — including a red cloth, white powder of unknown origin, and an animal’s tail.
“The motive of the crime was to kill the head of state,” magistrate Fine Mayambu said during the court ruling in Lusaka. “The convicts were not only enemies of the head of state but all Zambians.” Both men received a two-year prison sentence with hard labour.
The prosecution claimed they were hired by the brother of opposition MP Emmanuel “Jay Jay” Banda, who is currently on trial for robbery, attempted murder, and escaping from custody.
Witchcraft accusations are not new in Zambian politics. In the ongoing dispute over the burial of former President Edgar Lungu, rumours have circulated that President Hichilema planned to use Lungu’s body for occult rituals. Lungu, aged 68, died in June while receiving medical treatment in South Africa. His death has sparked a disagreement between the government — which wants to bring his body home for a state burial — and his family, who wish to keep the body abroad.
Across Africa, witchcraft allegations can lead to violence or worse. Just two months ago in Burundi, six people were killed after being accused of practising witchcraft.
Belief in witchcraft remains strong in parts of Africa. A 2022 Afrobarometer survey showed that many Malawians not only believe in witchcraft but also support laws to criminalise it.
In Ghana, controversy erupted after a bill passed by parliament in 2023 to criminalise attacks on alleged witches was blocked by then-president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Many victims have been forced to live in camps for safety. Amnesty International reported that over 500 individuals accused of witchcraft were living in camps in northern Ghana as of April 2024.
In South Africa, the law takes a different stance. The Witchcraft Suppression Act, introduced in 1957 and amended in 1970, makes it illegal to claim supernatural powers or to accuse others of witchcraft in ways that cause harm.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
