They Tried to Kill the President ... With a Chameleon

Two men are headed to prison in Zambia after they were found guilty of plotting to kill the president using witchcraft. It was the first time the country's legal system faced such a charge in a plot against a head of state. Leonard Phiri of Zambia and Jasten Mabulesse Candunde of Mozambique were arrested in December after authorities found them in possession of assorted charms, including a live chameleon, which they claimed could be used in a supposedly fatal ritual, per the BBC. Prosecutors argued the men were hired by a brother of former opposition MP Emmanuel "Jay Jay" Banda, now awaiting trial, to target President Hakainde Hichilema, per the Guardian.

Both Phiri and Candunde insisted they were simply traditional healers, but the court wasn't convinced, with Magistrate Fine Mayambu claiming Phiri had indicated that pricking the chameleon's tail would cause death to occur within days. In addition to the main two-year sentence for "professing" witchcraft, the men received six months each for possessing charms, though the terms will run concurrently. President Hichilema, who has said he doesn't believe in witchcraft, hasn't commented on the case.

Mayambu described the convicted men as not just enemies of the president but "enemies of all Zambians," per the BBC. He noted that while beliefs in witchcraft persist in Zambia, the Witchcraft Act, a colonial-era law dating back more than a century, focuses less on the supernatural and more on the fear and harm that come from those claiming such powers. "The question is not whether the accused are wizards or actually possess supernatural powers. It is whether they represented themselves as such, and the evidence clearly shows they did," said the magistrate. Many people in Zambia believe the law improperly criminalizes traditional spiritual beliefs, per the Guardian. The ruling comes amid allegations that Hichilema is targeting opponents through the courts.