Thursday, March 28, 2024

Chief Nkole welcomes witchcraft Act

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Chief Nkole of the Swaka (R)
Chief Nkole of the Swaka (R)

A traditional leader in Kapiri Mposhi District has welcomed government’s resolve to revise the Witchcraft Act to make it more current and applicable to the prevailing social and cultural conditions in the country.

Chief Nkole of the Swaka speaking people told ZANIS that amendments to the Witchcraft Act were long overdue because it was an old law which was imposed by the colonial masters on Zambians.

He stated that the Act should be revised to take into consideration the role of traditional leaders in resolving witchcraft cases in their respective chiefdoms in the country.

The traditional leader said the law which was passed in 1914 was still being used despite Zambia gaining her independence 50 years ago adding that the piece of legislation was inconsistent with several social and cultural settings and practices in the country.

“The revision of the Witchcraft Act should have been done just after the country gained independence in 1964 because most of its content is not permissible to the current human rights society that we are living in today… this law was basically a law enacted by the whites to dehumanize Africans”, Chief Nkole said.

Chief Nkole further observed that the Witchcraft Act of 1914 does not recognize the significant role of traditional leaders in handling and resolving witchcraft cases in their jurisdictions but imposes penalties against them ranging from a fine to a maximum three-year imprisonment if believed to encourage witchcraft in their areas.

He hoped that once revised, the Act will provide clear and documented guidelines to their royal highnesses and empower them to handle witchcraft cases in the country.

“Traditional leaders should be given roles with regards to the amicable determination of witchcraft cases in their territories because they understand these issues amongst their subjects therefore the revised Act should provide us with clear guidelines and powers to do so,” Chief Nkole said.

Chief Nkole stated that traditional leaders that include Chiefs and headmen currently do not have any standard guidelines and authority to administer witchcraft cases even though they are on a daily basis confronted with witchcraft cases which are widespread in the rural areas.

Government through the Zambia Law Development Commission is revising the Witchcraft Act Cap 90 of the Laws of Zambia.

And speaking in an interview with ZANIS Zambia Law Development Commission Research Officer Otema Musuka said the Commission was going round the country to obtain submissions from traditional leaders on the matter.

He said the Witchcraft Act which provides for penalties against the practice of witchcraft and for matters incidental to or connected with witchcraft has never undergone major revision since its enactment in 1914 by the colonial government.

18 COMMENTS

  1. Can not belive GRZ condoning the practice of something that does not exist. Believing in witchcraft is a time waster
    There is no witchcraft, it is a savage fantasy. Might as well encourage pipo to wear skins and Mary off girl children.

    • ba Patrick,
      I beg to differ. Non-existence and stúpidity are not the same thing. Of course witchcraft exists. The fact that it is stúpid doesn’t make it nonexistent. It is a fóol’s paradise, yes but very much a reality.

  2. We have had house of chiefs since independence, why you Nkole could not have tabled this matter in the house of chiefs if you are not playing double standard in front of the camera while doing the opposite in the dark?

  3. Careful Hon. Otema Musukwa. and everybody. How do you enact law for something that only exists in abstract terms? It was for a purpose that colonial legislators left the law pertaining to witchcraft in a tacit form.

  4. ..ba LT…your titles at times baffles me….for a moment I thought I will be reading a new act…by the way, why did you have to insert (R) in the picture…for us readers to be sure who the chief is in case one would think its the other guy next to the chief…..??
    …witchcraft has always been a phenomenon…as such its difficult to come up with clear cut laws to apply…more especially draconian ones…because the basic law provides that ..’the accused must be proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt’… which does not apply in the so called witchcraft acts..’

  5. This guy is the most corrupt of all the Lala Chiefs. Currently there’s a case going on in the courts of Law with regards to Land he “sold” to so-called. If you are looking for evidence look no further; look at the photo….?

  6. Do you see now that only having a people driven constitution adopted is the way forward to affront issues that affect the moderna day Zambia? The animal driven constitution must be delt with so that, other steps be taken in upgrading the Zambian legislation to suite the times we’re living…

  7. Does anyone know where they sell ubwanga? I need a dosage/portion/kilo/packet/bag/heap (whatever unit they use for selling)

    • Wire me $900 by WU asap, then send me a new pair of underwear, new sweater and a chitenge plus a plot of land in my chosen town. After this go wait outside your local PO you’ll receive a package by courier. It’ll be a traditional cup, a gourd with your potion in it. Handle with care and use in small doses.

    • Dear Dr Nyau,

      If you dont know what Ubwanga means how can you sell it to me? U cant sell a product you dont know….

    • Dear Laso,
      so you finally got the joke. Although from your reaction you didn’t think it was funny at all.

      ha!

  8. Witchcraft is all bunk. When a man gets sick from drinking contaminated water the witch doctor tells him he was bewitched by his aunt. Witch doctors do not support schools to teach others the witchcraft practice.They lie by telling someone bitten by a snake that it was sent by someone who does not like him. Can one imagine that? And now these chiefs want to get involved – my goodness. The politicians are already running to South Africa. They do not believe in witchcraft but they feel they can save a lot of money by letting citizens continue believing in witchcraft while they use citizens’ taxes for their health care.

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