Zambia: Two men sentenced to two years in prison for attempting to kill the president through magic and charms

A court in Zambia on Monday sentenced two men to two years of hard labor after they were convicted of attempting to use magic and charms to kill the country's president, Hakainde Hichilema.

The police stated that the detainees are Mozambican citizen Justin Mabulisi Kandondi and local leader Leonard Ferry, who were arrested last December with charms that included a live chameleon. They explained that the two men planned to use these charms to harm the president, and they were charged with claiming to know magic and possessing charms.

Judge Fine Mayambu in the capital Lusaka said: "The motive behind the crime was to kill the head of state, and the convicted men posed a threat to all Zambians, so I sentenced them to 24 months of hard labor from the date of their arrest."

The prosecution added that the two men executed the plan with the support and funding of the brother of opposition MP Emmanuel 'J.J.' Banda, who is currently on trial for charges including theft, attempted murder, and escape from prison.