The Vimbuza Healing and Dancers Association of Malawi (VHDAM) has said that, honeymoon is over for witchdoctors, herbalists and traditional healers who claim to own herbs that have the ability to cure tuberculosis to stop forthwith before they face the wrath of the association to shovel on them stiff punishments.
VHDAM’s President Dr. Chisusu Mbale who is also Principal Group Village Head Jeyeka, well trained on TB and seasoned traditional healer made this warning on Wednesday when he spoke to scores of journalists at his Jeyeka healing house in Traditional Authority (TA) Chikulamayembe in Rumphi.
“The association strongly warns the 3000 membership that, some will have their licenses revoked and banned from practicing or be fined if beyond doubt we learn that anyone is duping TB patients by cheating on them that their herbs cure TB. This is a blue lie and the association will not tolerate that inhumanity,” Mbale said.
Mbale a retired teacher who started practicing herbal healing in 1987, has asked government to sensitize herbalists in the country on the dangers of holding TB patients in traditional healing camps.
Rumphi district TB Officer, Edwin Msiska said, “As a result of being told that they have been bewitched and that they should use herbs, many patients come to hospital while their TB conditions have worsened reducing survival levels. This is one major contributing factor why we register a ten percent death rate yearly from the total TB patients we register in the district, besides men shunning clinics.”
