The Digest:
A Zambian court has sentenced two men to two years in prison under the country’s colonial-era Witchcraft Act for attempting to use supernatural means to harm President Hakainde Hichilema. The case, the first of its kind against a sitting president, highlights the enduring tension between modern law and traditional beliefs.
Key Points:
- Leonard Phiri (Zambian) and Jasten Mabulesse Candunde (Mozambican) were convicted as “practising witchdoctors.”
- They were found with charms, including a live chameleon, allegedly intended to kill the president within five days.
- The judge declared them “enemies of all Zambians” and rejected leniency pleas.
- The 1914 Witchcraft Act punishes “professing” supernatural powers, not their actual existence.
- The defendants were reportedly hired by a fugitive former lawmaker.
- Prosecutions under the act are rare and originally aimed to protect vulnerable people from mob violence.
- The case occurs amid broader witchcraft-related tensions, including a dispute over a former president’s burial.
Sources: BBC News,
