The Lusaka Magistrate’s Court has ruled that two suspected witch doctors have a case to answer in a bizarre case involving an alleged plot to harm President Hakainde Hichilema through witchcraft.

The accused, Leonard Phiri, 43, a Zambian from Sinda District in Eastern Province, and Jasten Mabulesse Candunde, 42, a Mozambican national, have been placed on their defence, as the court found the prosecution’s evidence strong enough to proceed.

This development follows their arrest in December 2024, when Zambian police detained the duo in Lusaka after uncovering what was described as an attempted spiritual attack on the President.

According to a police statement issued at the time, the alleged mastermind behind the plan was Nelson Banda, a younger brother to Member of Parliament Emmanuel Banda, who was himself facing charges in a separate case involving aggravated robbery. Police say Banda hired the two witch doctors to carry out rituals intended to harm or spiritually weaken the Head of State.

At the time of arrest, authorities recovered various charms (nyanga), live animals including a chameleon, and ritual items believed to be used in the act. Police revealed that the suspects had agreed to perform the rituals for K2 million Zambian kwacha.

Phiri and Candunde were charged with unlawful possession of charms, confessing to knowledge of witchcraft, and cruelty to wildlife, among other offences.

Both suspects will now begin presenting their defence in the next court session.

The case has sparked widespread debate in Zambia, touching on issues of traditional belief systems, security, and the role of witchcraft-related charges in modern jurisprudence.

Police in Zambia are investigating the murder of a security guard whose body was discovered near Yobe Village, along the Chadiza-Zemba Road, on the evening of July 8, 2025, around 18:00 hours.

The deceased, identified as an employee of Arm Safety Security Company in Katete, has been named as Zulu. He was reportedly attacked and killed by unknown assailants while traveling to visit his relatives.

According to Police Commissioner Robertson Mweemba, Zulu had departed Katete Boma at approximately 19:00 hours on July 7, riding an unregistered red Bush Lander motorbike worth K30,000, which is now missing and believed to have been stolen by his attackers.

His lifeless body was found about five meters from the main road, lying in a field.

Upon arriving at the scene, police officers noted that the victim had suffered serious injuries, including a deep cut to the forehead, bruises on the chest and back, suggesting a violent struggle.

No arrests have been made so far, and investigations are ongoing. The body has been transported to Chadiza District Mortuary for a postmortem examination.

Authorities are urging anyone with information to come forward as the hunt for the perpetrators continues.

Nyawali Eliud, a 33-year-old teacher at Nguzu Primary School in Choma Ward, Nangoma, Mumbwa District in Zambia, was discovered dead near maize fields on Tuesday evening.

The body was found by a passerby who alerted Village Headwoman Mbayi. Choma Ward Councilor Debby Chilombe later confirmed the incident to the media.

The cause of death remains unknown as police continue their investigations. The body has been taken to Nangoma Hospital Mortuary for a post-mortem examination.

An official statement from the police is still pending.

A 22-year-old woman, Felister Chipongwe, who was facing manslaughter charges, has been acquitted by the Livingstone High Court in Zambia.

Chipongwe was accused of causing the death of her newborn baby boy, whom she disposed of in a shallow ditch on April 10th last year.

According to a postmortem, the baby sustained severe head injuries on three separate parts while still alive, which ultimately led to its death.

In her defense, Chipongwe claimed that she gave birth unexpectedly while standing in her sitting room, as she was unaware she was due, leading to the baby falling onto the concrete floor.

Chipongwe further explained that, being a first-time mother, she was in a state of confusion and assumed the baby was already dead as it did not cry or move after birth. She then disposed of the baby in a ditch near her house, where it was later found with the placenta and umbilical cord still attached.

The court, sitting in Mazabuka District, determined that while Chipongwe had neglected her parental duty to protect the newborn by throwing it in the ditch, it was clear she had no malicious intent.

Despite her inexperience and the shock of the situation, the court found her actions negligent but not criminally intentional.

Following mitigation, which revealed that Chipongwe was deeply remorseful and traumatised by the incident, and noting that she now has a four-month-old baby, the court issued an absolute discharge, sparing her any further punishment.

A 65 year-old Zambian fisherman in Siavonga has drowned to death in Zambezi River after his canoe came under attack from a hippopotamus.

The deceased identified as Thomas Mulenga of Manyepa area met his death on Wednesday around afternoon.

Makwelele village headman Christopher Bandela who confirmed the incident said Mr Mulenga was on a fishing expedition when the hippo emerged and hit his canoe forcing it to capsize.

A 20-year-old mental patient from Chibolya B Compound in Itezhi-Tezhi District has been allegedly defiled by a man only identified as Collins, believed to be aged between 45 and 55.

Southern Province Commissioner of Police Auxensio Daka, has confirmed the development and said the incident occurred on 25th March, 2024, and reported the next day by mother to the victim.

Daka explains that on the fateful day around 19:00 hours, it was discovered that the victim was missing from home.

He says relatives searched for her but she could not be found and she only came back home the following morning around 06:00 hours.

Daka states that when put to task by the mother, the victim revealed that she spent the night with Collins on the same bed.

He says the suspect has fled his home and police have launched manhunt to arrest him.

Source:Byta Fm Zambia

A 13-year-old girl of Lusaka’s Kanyama Compound has turned up pregnant after she absconded her parents’ house to stay with her 15-year-old boyfriend in February, 2024, only to show up on 23rd March.

Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Danny Mwale, says investigations reveal that when asked by her parents where she had been, the girl said she was at her boyfriend’s place within Kanyama Compound.

According to Mwale the boy, who has since been cited for defilement, does part time jobs whenever he can.

He states that the two minors have been placed in the custody of their guardians awaiting to be taken to the Social Welfare for further action.

Mwale adds that a docket has been opened against the boy and a medical Report Form issued to the girl.

Source:Byta Fm Zambia

A Security Guard of Bauleni Compound in Lusaka  Zambia ,has been arrested in relation to the murder of his intimate partner, Eunice Nakombe, 27, who was found deceased in a decomposed state.

The suspect has been identified as Mabvuto Mudenda aged 28 who committed the offence on 29 February 20240.

The deceased was a living-in maid to Maria Ngambi of Chamba Valley, whose brother, Joseph, had reported the matter at Woodlands Police Station.

According Public Relations Officer for Woodland Police Rae Hamoonga, Nakombe’s remains were discovered covered with a blanket and surrounded by buckets and dishes at plot number 63, Cedar Road, Woodlands.

Hamoonga states that following investigative efforts, Police apprehended Mudenda who was found hiding in Chalala Compound where he sought refuge at a colleague’s residence.

He says during interrogation, it was revealed that the deceased had been in a relationship with the suspect for over a year, with Mudenda confessing to harboring intentions of acquiring Nakombe’s property.

Hamoonga notes that Mudenda strangled his partner to death and spent the night at the crime scene, from 21:00 hours when he abandoned his duty guard post, until 09:00 hours the following morning.

He says during that time, Mudenda collected various items from the property which include a bed, mattress, dining table with chairs, a 65-inch TV, a radio cassette with speakers, clothing, two suitcases, kitchenware, and assorted groceries.

Hamoonga conveys that the stolen properties were recovered in a place called Jamaica beyond Kasupe area at the residence of Mudenda’s wife’s sister on 18th March.

He however notes that the deceased’s phone remains missing as Mudenda claims to have disposed of it at an undisclosed location.

Mudenda will soon appear in court to answer charges leveled against him.

A Fuel-tanker containing diesel caught fire at Choma’s Karan Service Station while offloading the contents yesterday’s afternoon on 19 March 2024.

According to one of the operators of Fire Extinguisher who was helping to cease the fire Voice Mambo, the fire began around 15:00 hours from a nearby Generator which was providing electricity.

Mambo, however, noted that Officers from the Fire Squad arrived an hour later, expressing disappointment at the lack of a sense of emergency amid a public safety scare.

Another Eye Witness, John Malemala, fears that the situation could have led to fatality had the contents of the Fuel-tanker been petrol, which he notes is more inflammable.

And Conard Mwiinga who was also at the scene during the occurrence narrated how several people coordinated in trying to contain the fire, expressing gratitude that no human life was lost.

Source:Byta Fm

Unknown man has been caught on camera being beaten by two curvy Zambian ladies for failing to pay them after having consensual sex.

In a video which has gone viral in social media, is showing a man being slapped severe while dragged to police.

It is being reported that, the man had an agreement with ladies believed to be sex workers, but he failed to pay them after service as he flew away.

(Watch Video)

The North-Western Province community has been left in shock, after a well-known physiotherapist at Mwinilunga District Hospital was tragically murderéd following a suspected domestic dispute with her husband.

The deceased has been identified as Twaambo Hitima.

The local police have taken the husband into custody as the prime suspect in this case.

According to the community members, the incident unfolded after a heated argument between the couple on Saturday evening, which escalated upon the husband’s return the following day.

The confrontation led to a violent attack outside their residence, resulting in fatal injuries to the physiotherapist.

The victim, known for her dedication to her profession and her warm, engaging personality, was found in a critical state by relatives and later pronounced dead at the hospital.

The case has drawn significant attention, with the community mourning the loss of a figure known for her positive impact.

Police investigations are ongoing and a formal statement is yet to be issued.

Zambian national women’s football striker Sarah Jere has set social media ablaze with her recent pictures.

Jere who plays for ZANACO Ladies Football Club, shared her photo via her Facebook page in donned a beautiful attire as she watched her side take on Yasa Queens on Sunday.

However, there is a stereotypes that ladies who play Football are usually dress like men but Jere has broken the motion as she shared her stunning photos in ladies outfit.

“When you meet her away from the pitch you wouldn’t even suspect that this is the goal machine”,said Zed Netzens.

Jere who is 23Years-Old, won Zambia’s topscorer at the 2023Cosafa Women’s Championship.

Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema has declared a national disaster to tackle the prolonged drought affecting the country.

Addressing the nation on Thursday afternoon, Mr Hichilema said 84 districts out of a total of 116 were affected.

Zambia has been experiencing poor rain, with fears mounting that the country may experience hunger and struggle to meet its electricity demands as most of its energy is from water sources.

Water levels at Kariba Dam – which Zambia and neighbouring Zimbabwe use for hydroelectricity – had fallen to about 11.5% of usable storage as of last December.

The president said the drought would affect the generation of more than 450 megawatts of power.

He said almost half of the land used for planting crops had been affected by the dry spell.

Mr Hichilema said his government would work to ensure that additional maize and other food was brought into the country to make up the deficit.

He said he would use Zambia’s defence forces “in this fight to save our lives and save families and create a longer term solution to drought”.

“We will work together to get together farmers to plant more crops. We shall also enhance the social support programmes for the farmers that have been affected by the drought,” he said.

“We call upon all our local and international partners to avail any excess food on hand to provide relief. Some partners have already extended their commitment to offer their support, such as the British, the UN system, the World Bank Group and others.”

He called on farmers to use irrigation methods to cope with the dry spell. An estimated one million farmers have been affected by the drought.

Mr Hichilema said his government would work with different stakeholders, opposition politicians and the church to tackle the situation.

Social media has been awash with videos and pictures of fields with dying crops.

-Source: BBC-

Zambia, already facing its worst anthrax epidemic in more than a decade, has recorded new deaths caused by cholera, health authorities in the southern African country reported on Tuesday.

Four people died of cholera in the capital Lusaka in 24 hours, bringing the number of victims of this infection to 64 for the entire country since the start of the year.

According to the National Institute of Public Health of Zambia, 46 of these deaths were recorded in the capital, as well as < /span>, over the same period.1,600 infections

Acute diarrheal infection caused by the absorption of food or water contaminated by bacteria, cholera is on the rise on the continent, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Health Minister Sylvia Masebo said the government was distributing chlorine to purify water in areas affected by the epidemic and called on the population to respect strict hygiene measures.

These new deaths come days after the WHO announced that the country was facing its worst anthrax outbreak since 2011. Since the start of the year, the; anthrax – oranthrax – has claimed four lives and 700 suspected cases in the country, according to the WHO.

The bacterium Bacillus anthracis, which survives for decades in the form of spores in land where animals that died of anthrax or carried the disease have been buried in the past, is transmissible to the disease. man, and potentially fatal in its rarest forms.

According to the WHO, 26 of the suspected cases in Zambia come from “consumption of meat taken from the carcasses of three hippos”. The organization warned of a “high” risk of the anthrax epidemic spreading to neighboring countries, given “the frequent (cross-border) movements of populations and animals”.

Besides Zambia, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda and Zimbabwe have also recorded cases anthrax this year, with a total of 20 deaths and some 1,100 suspected cases.

Source: African News

Zambian woman who was five months pregnant, has died after she was beaten, allegedly by her husband for refusing to eat her food when they came back from drinking at some bar.

Earlier, Lobina Nambeye, 37, of Katuba farming area, and her husband Davy Kaonga had gone to their field, after which they decided to go for a drink at one of the drinking spots.

Their son had accompanied them to the field but he was told to go home as they opted to go straight to the bar.

But whatever happened, they engaged in a fight when they returned home.

A 36 year old woman of Lusaka, working at Kuku farms in Chelstone’s Obama area, has died after she was beaten by her two ex-boyfriends, who are currently on the run.

According to Zambia Police assistant public relations officer Godfrey Chilabi, the duo, Derrick and Kebby, whose other names are yet to be known, collaborated in disfiguring Yvonne Kabwe’s face.

It is reported that the two run-away boyfriends, who used unknown objects to inflict pain on Kabwe, left her in excruciating body pains with a swollen right cheek and face.

Kabwe later died at Chelstone clinic.

“Preliminary investigations indicate that on the fateful date, now deceased [Kabwe], reported to her employer that she was not feeling too well, without divulging into any further details,” Chilabi stated.

“Later, information came to the employer’s knowledge that actually her maid was allegedly beaten.”

Chilabi stated that Kabwe’s body has been taken to the University Teaching Hospitals (UTH) mortuary, awaiting post-mortem while a manhunt for two suspects has been launched.

A second year student of Bachelor of Business Management at the University of Zambia has committed suicide by hanging himself.

Mashuko Kanjipite was found hanging on the bathroom window in his room around 09:00 hours yesterday and rushed to Levy Mwanawasa University Teaching Hospital where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.

Reasons for the suicide are not yet clear but fellow students took to social media pouring out their grief and shock.

Zambia Police assistant public relations officer Godfrey Chilabi has confirmed the suicide to Kalemba in a statement, saying an inquiry file had been opened in the matter.

Zambia’s Chitalu Chilufya, one of the candidates for the former ruling Patriotic Front (PF) party’s presidential nomination, has reportedly withdrawn from the race.

Sources close to Chilufya, who previously declared his intention to succeed current President Edgar Lungu, say that the former Minister of Health has had a change of heart.

According to the sources, Chilufya’s family has been against his presidential ambitions and he has failed to mobilize the resources necessary to campaign effectively, as other candidates like Brian Mundubile and Miles Sampa have done.

When contacted for comment, Chilufya’s phone went unanswered.

However, a journalist known for writing positive stories about Chilufya has continued to post articles suggesting that the candidate is still in the race.

It is worth noting that, this news have not been officially confirmed by Dr Chilufya and his campaign team.