A Zambian court has sentenced two men to prison for attempting to kill President Hakainde Hichilema using witchcraft and voodoo practices.

The convicts, Leonard Phiri and Mozambican national Jasten Mabulesse Candude, were arrested in December after being found with charms, including a live chameleon. Prosecutors said they had been hired by a fugitive former lawmaker to target the president.

Magistrate Fine Mayambu, delivering judgment, said the pair were not only enemies of the head of state but also “enemies of all Zambians.”

Both men admitted to owning the charms. According to court testimony, Phiri explained that pricking a chameleon’s tail during a ritual could cause death within five days.

Although their lawyer, Agrippa Malando, appealed for leniency on the grounds that they were first-time offenders, the court rejected the plea. They were sentenced under Zambia’s Witchcraft Act of 1914, which remains in force though rarely applied.

The men also received six months for possession of charms, with sentences to run concurrently.