Conviction comes as Hakainde Hichilema faces growing criticism for suppressing political opposition
Two men have been convicted in Zambia of planning to use witchcraft to kill the president, Hakainde Hichilema.
Leonard Phiri, a village chief, and Jasten Mabulesse Candunde, a Mozambican citizen, were arrested in December after a cleaner reported hearing strange noises. Authorities said they were found to be in possession of a live chameleon and other “assorted charms”, including a red cloth, an unidentified white powder and an animal’s tail.
“The motive of the crime was to kill the head of state,” the magistrate Fine Mayambu said in his ruling at a court in Lusaka. “The convicts were not only enemies of the head of state but all Zambians.”
The men were sentenced to two years in prison with hard labour.
