In Zambia, men sentenced for witchcraft assassination attempt on president

President of Zambia Hichilema. Photo: Wikimedia

A court in Zambia sentenced two men to two years in prison with hard labor for attempting to kill President Hakainde Hichilema using witchcraft practices.

The prosecution claimed that they were hired by a fugitive former MP to bewitch Hichilema. Despite their assurances that they were merely traditional healers, the court found them guilty on two counts under the Witchcraft Act. "The two accepted ownership of the charms. Phiri further demonstrated that the chameleon's tail, once pricked and used in the ritual, would cause death to occur within five days," Magistrate Mayambu said.

According to the investigation, the assassination of the president was ordered by Nelson Banda, the younger brother of prominent local politician Emmanuel Banda, who paid the perpetrators 2 million Zambian kwacha ($73,000). "The motive for the crime was the assassination of the head of state. The convicts were enemies not only of the head of state but of all Zambians," Judge Fine Mayambu announced the court's decision.

The court issued the sentence based on a British colonial-era law that prohibited and criminalized witchcraft in Zambia. Under the country's 1914 law prohibiting witchcraft, any actions or statements demonstrating possession of supernatural abilities are equated to such activities.

As earlier reported, a state minister was arrested in the Maldives for using "black magic" on the president.

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