Arrested for plot to ‘bewitch’ Zambia’s president

Excerpts from a BBC news report:

Two men have been arrested in Zambia accused of being “witchdoctors” who had been tasked with trying to bewitch the president.

The police said they had arrested Jasten Mabulesse Candunde and Leonard Phiri in the capital, Lusaka.

“Their purported mission was to use charms to harm” President Hakainde Hichilema, said the police statement, released on Friday.

Many people in the southern African country believe in - and live in fear of - witchcraft.

The police said Mr Candunde and Mr Phiri were hired by Nelson Banda, the younger brother of MP Emmanuel “Jay Jay” Banda.

Mr Candunde and Mr Phiri have been charged under Zambia's Witchcraft Act with “possession of charms”, “professing knowledge of witchcraft” and “cruelty to wild animals”.

The pair were found in possession of “assorted charms”, including a live chameleon, the police added.