Can Witchcraft Become Evidence in Court?

Introduction

Can witchcraft become evidence in court? In Zambia, that question moved from folklore into national politics when a criminal case alleged that two men planned to use witchcraft, including a live chameleon and ritual objects, to harm President Hakainde Hichilema. The prosecution did not require the court to decide whether supernatural powers were real. Instead, it relied on a century-old colonial law that criminalises various witchcraft-related acts and claims. The resulting case became one of the country’s most unusual modern legal controversies, exposing the uneasy meeting point of traditional belief, inherited colonial legislation, criminal justice and political conflict. For anyone interested in Zambia’s Fortean history, it is a striking example of how supernatural claims can have entirely real legal and political consequences.[AP News]apnews.comThe case spotlights traditional African beliefs and criticisms of a colonial-era law that criminalizes witchcraft. Allegedly hired by a f…

The colonial Witchcraft Act and its broad powers

Zambia’s Witchcraft Act dates back to 1914, when the country was the British colony of Northern Rhodesia. More than a century later it remains in force, although amended several times. The Act is often misunderstood. It does not recognise witchcraft as a proven supernatural force in law. Rather, it creates offences around claiming supernatural powers, accusing others of witchcraft, using charms to deceive people, employing witch doctors for harmful purposes and conducting traditional “tests” intended to identify witches.[zambialaws.com]zambialaws.comZambia Laws WITCHCRAFT ACT: CHAPTER 90Zambia Laws WITCHCRAFT ACT: CHAPTER 90

One of the law’s unusual features is that it criminalises both sides of the problem. It seeks to punish people who claim magical powers for fraud or intimidation, while also penalising those who publicly accuse others of being witches. Historians note that colonial administrators introduced such legislation partly to suppress practices they regarded as dangerous or fraudulent, but also to reduce violence arising from witchcraft accusations. Critics argue that this left Zambia with a law reflecting colonial assumptions about African belief systems rather than modern legal principles.[Zambialii]zambialii.orgWitchcraft Act, 1914 – ZambiaLII…

The law therefore occupies an awkward position. Zambia is officially a Christian nation, yet belief in witchcraft remains widespread across many communities. Courts must sometimes deal with crimes motivated by those beliefs without endorsing the supernatural claims themselves. That tension has become increasingly visible in recent years.[AP News]apnews.comThe case spotlights traditional African beliefs and criticisms of a colonial-era law that criminalizes witchcraft. Allegedly hired by a f…

The alleged plot against President Hakainde Hichilema

The controversy erupted after authorities announced the arrest of two men accused of participating in a plot against President Hakainde Hichilema. According to prosecutors, the suspects allegedly possessed a live chameleon, charms, powders and bottles containing ritual substances that they intended to use in an attempt to kill or seriously harm the president through witchcraft. Prosecutors further alleged that they had been recruited by a politically connected individual associated with an opposition figure, giving the case an immediate political dimension.[AP News]apnews.comThe case spotlights traditional African beliefs and criticisms of a colonial-era law that criminalizes witchcraft. Allegedly hired by a f…

The live chameleon rapidly became the symbol of the entire affair. International headlines frequently described it as “the presidential chameleon case”, because the unusual evidence seemed almost unbelievable to readers unfamiliar with southern African witchcraft traditions. Yet within Zambia, discussion was often less about the animal itself than about whether the legal system should treat alleged supernatural plots as genuine criminal conspiracies.[AP News]apnews.comThe case spotlights traditional African beliefs and criticisms of a colonial-era law that criminalizes witchcraft. Allegedly hired by a f…

Importantly, the prosecution was not framed as scientific proof that witchcraft works. Instead, prosecutors argued that the defendants had intentionally engaged in conduct prohibited by the Witchcraft Act while allegedly participating in a broader criminal conspiracy directed at the president. That distinction became central to public debate.[AP News]apnews.comThe case spotlights traditional African beliefs and criticisms of a colonial-era law that criminalizes witchcraft. Allegedly hired by a f…

Belief, politics and the problem of proof

The case highlighted an unusual legal problem. Criminal courts normally assess physical evidence, witness testimony and demonstrable acts. Supernatural harm cannot be tested in the same way. As a result, the proceedings focused less on whether magical forces exist than on the defendants’ intentions, possession of ritual objects and alleged agreement to carry out the plot.[AP News]apnews.comThe case spotlights traditional African beliefs and criticisms of a colonial-era law that criminalizes witchcraft. Allegedly hired by a f…

For supporters of the prosecution, widespread belief in witchcraft means that plots based upon those beliefs can still create genuine threats, fear and political instability even if supernatural claims cannot be verified. From that perspective, the law addresses harmful conduct rather than paranormal reality.

Critics reached the opposite conclusion. Human-rights advocates, legal scholars and political commentators questioned whether a colonial-era statute should still be used in a modern democracy. Some also argued that the timing of the prosecution, during an intensely polarised political period, encouraged suspicions that witchcraft allegations were becoming entangled with partisan conflict rather than serving purely criminal justice purposes.[AP News]apnews.comThe case spotlights traditional African beliefs and criticisms of a colonial-era law that criminalizes witchcraft. Allegedly hired by a f…

The case also revived a recurring paradox in Zambian public life. Politicians have at different times accused rivals of using occult powers, denied believing in witchcraft themselves, or found themselves defending investigations rooted in public belief. The legal system therefore has to navigate a society in which supernatural explanations remain culturally meaningful for many citizens while criminal trials still require evidence that satisfies ordinary judicial standards.[AP News]apnews.comThe case spotlights traditional African beliefs and criticisms of a colonial-era law that criminalizes witchcraft. Allegedly hired by a f…

Why the case matters in Zambia’s strange-history record

From a Fortean perspective, the presidential chameleon case is memorable not because it proves the supernatural, but because it demonstrates how extraordinary beliefs can shape entirely ordinary institutions. Police investigations, criminal charges, courtroom arguments and international news coverage all revolved around allegations that many outsiders would dismiss immediately, while many local observers considered them worthy of serious attention.

Unlike a ghost legend or monster sighting, this episode left an official paper trail through arrests, court proceedings and statutory law. It therefore belongs to Zambia’s modern catalogue of strange history as a documented collision between folklore, politics and legal authority rather than as evidence for paranormal powers.

The broader mystery is not whether a chameleon could be used to cast a fatal spell. It is why a law written in 1914 continues to influence twenty-first-century criminal justice, and how societies reconcile deeply held supernatural beliefs with legal systems built around evidence, proof and procedure. That unresolved tension is what gives the case its lasting cultural significance.[Zambia Laws]zambialaws.comZambia Laws WITCHCRAFT ACT: CHAPTER 90Zambia Laws WITCHCRAFT ACT: CHAPTER 90

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Endnotes

1. Source: zambialii.org
Link:https://zambialii.org/akn/zm/act/1914/5/eng%401996

2. Source: zambialii.org
Link:https://zambialii.org/akn/zm/act/1993/26

Published: April 30, 1993

3. Source: apnews.com
Link:https://apnews.com/article/20aead81a370584eb4373474212206fe

4. Source: zambialaws.com
Title: Zambia Laws WITCHCRAFT ACT: CHAPTER 90
Link:https://www.zambialaws.com/w/385-chapter-90witchcraft-act

5. Source: idea.int
Link:https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/report/zambia/september-2025

Published: September 15, 2025

6. Source: hrw.org
Link:https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2026/country-chapters/zambia

Additional References

7. Source: parliament.gov.zm
Link:https://www.parliament.gov.zm/acts/volume/355

8. Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/100072359531013/posts/two-men-jailed-for-attempting-to-bewitch-and-kill-zambias-president-hakainde-hic/811942594561051/

9. Source: parliament.gov.zm
Link:https://www.parliament.gov.zm/sites/default/files/documents/acts/Witchcraft%20Act.pdf

10. Source: ny1.com
Link:https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/ap-top-news/2025/02/24/a-witchcraft-case-involving-zambias-president-brings-scrutiny-of-a-colonial-era-law-and-traditions

11. Source: wildhunt.org
Link:https://wildhunt.org/2025/09/prosecutors-invoke-colonial-era-law-jail-two-men-for-attempted-use-of-witchcraft-against-zambian-president.html

12. Source: thetimes.co.uk
Link:https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/two-arrested-in-zambia-for-using-witchcraft-against-president-gwr6kd6rl

13. Source: nnafrica.com
Title: Shadows of the Past: Zambia’s Witchcraft Case and the Colonial Law Dilemma
Link:https://nnafrica.com/20250225/3742/shadows-of-the-past-zambias-witchcraft-case-and-the-colonial-law-dilemma.html

Published: February 25, 2025

14. Source: chalochatu.org
Title: Chalo Chatu, Zambia online encyclopedia Witchcraft Act, Chapter 90
Link:https://www.chalochatu.org/index.php?mobileaction=toggle_view_desktop&title=Witchcraft_Act%2C_Chapter_90

Published: March 25, 2026

15. Source: theguardian.com
Title: two men found guilty of witchcraft plot to kill zambias president
Link:https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/15/two-men-found-guilty-of-witchcraft-plot-to-kill-zambias-president

16. Source: instagram.com
Link:https://www.instagram.com/p/DOoNw0hCOP0/