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.

The MP was reportedly arrested last month in neighbouring Zimbabwe over robbery charges, which he denies, but he has not been seen in public.

He is also accused of having escaped from custody in August as he awaited to appear in court.

The opposition Patriotic Front (PF) party, led by former President Edgar Lungu, has previously alleged that these charges are politically motivated.

Emmanuel Banda, who has been an independent MP since 2021, was previously associated with Lungu, who lost the presidency to Hichilema that year.

In their statement, the police said the MP’s younger brother, Nelson, was “currently on the run”.

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.

They told the police they had been promised more than 2m Zambian kwacha (£58,000; $73,000) for their “mission”, according to the police statement.

The suspects are being held in custody and will appear in court “soon”, the police said, but did not give an exact date for the hearing. They have not yet commented in public on the allegations.