Tucked about
20 KM away from the Busega Main Road is Kityo Herbal Research Project-a haven
for those who want to rid themselves of dental cavities and halitosis. Tracing Dr
Kityo’s clinic was no easy job as he was new in the area and unfamiliar to
many. Infact, one motorcyclist said that he had heard that a witch doctor
popularly known as ‘omusawo omuganda’ had invaded the area.
When I
finally traced the place, the diminutive Dr Kityo, a name he likes to be
called, donning in black socks, a khaki trouser and pale white shirt loosely
hanging over the trouser, welcomed me. However, I was supposed to remove my
shoes.
I felt a
hitch of indignation as I looked at the floor dotted with ash, broom sticks and
black minute seeds. My stomach felt strange and my palms were clammy.
Having the motorcyclist’s view stamped on my mind, I was terrified. Of course,
it’s not really a fear of being in a shrine. Rather it’s the view of what
happens there- faceless voices talking to me. My sense of security was
screamingly absent.
Smoke and
heat swirled around the room as I made my way in. A charcoal stove is kept
aglow all the time for easier melting of a few grams of ghee, one of the
ingredients Dr Kityo employs. Inside were two youthful clients that had issues
with their teeth. I followed the proceedings of seeing them recover.
Kityo grabs
a small black pot and cleans it with a few broom sticks and water to steer
clear any contamination from the last user. He then drops some herbs into the
pot before adding a hot piece of charcoal and the ghee. He quickly crowns the
pot brim with a circular woven reed that has a little opening through which
clients inhale the odour.
The odour is chocking. Throughout the
procedure, coughing, spiting and squinting of teary eyes are the highlights.
The inhaling takes 15-20 minutes until the fire is over.
He later uncovers the pot, and uses a
pair of hooked metal to remove tiny black, brown or pale white substance that
has collected at the bottom.
“This is the dirt from your teeth,” he
tells a client urging her to go home and rest and call him later to confirm
whether his teeth have healed. The client, with a happy face but blood shot
eyes from the piercing smoke, parts with shs.50, 000 and happily chews away a
green apple that she carried along.
Dr Kityo says he has been at this job
for 10 years and his medication caters for all age groups.
“I learnt from my father who had over
30 years experience and I am not willing to let it go because it will be a
shame,” he says.
Asked to disclose the medicines he
uses, he told me that he cannot because there are many fakes who will adopt it
and con people.
On average, he receives 20 clients a
day according to his visitors’ book that every client must sign.
Kityo is among the traditional healers
registered under National Council of Traditional Healers and herbalists
Association (NACOTHA) as an authentic healer. A traditional healer as defined
by the Traditional
Healers and Modern Practitioners Together against AIDS (THETA) is one who is
recognized by his community and uses native knowledge handed down from
generation to generation either orally or spiritually to alleviate all forms of human suffering.
However, the recent wave of ritual murders, including child
sacrifice, has prompted parliamentarians to debate and plead with the
government to enact a law regulating the activities and practices of
traditional healers and herbalists. The only law governing the operation of
traditional healers is the Witchcraft Act of 1964, which stipulates penalties
against intended acts of harm.
Dr Gerald Mutungi, the commissioner for non-communicable diseases in
the health ministry says a number of
organizations register and present as traditional healers when they are not and
are deceiving and conning people through the media. For example, in January
2008, 20 Ugandan healers were arrested in Johannesburg for carrying out illegal
abortions.
In effect to stop this, Mutungi says the ministry is collaborating with
the police to crack down the fake healers.
As such, all traditional healers will have to surrender their licenses
for fresh registration
Dr Yahaya
Sekagya, the director PROMETRA a local NGO working with traditional healers to
increase acceptance of traditional medicine says many fake healers are present
because there are no patent rights for traditional healers and so authentic
knowledge is easily counterfeited.
He says many
of the fakes have a tendency of resorting to witchcraft.
“These conmen
claim to have the power to make people rich or even cure illnesses such as
HIV/Aids and often advertise in newspapers so as to woo the gullible. After
promising to make their victims rich, they take off with the clients’ money,”
he says.
He however says
that traditional medicine is reliable because it is based
on a holistic approach to life with an emphasis on health rather than on
disease compared to western medicine.
“The reason for such reliance on traditional medicine is
its accessibility and affordability in comparison with western medicine. Most Ugandans
will resort to traditional medical practitioners for their health problems
because of its cost effectiveness and local availability,” Dr. Karim
Musaasizi NACOTHA’s general secretary says.
But the issue goes beyond access. Traditional healing is linked to
wider belief systems and remains integral to the lives of most Ugandans. People
consult traditional healers whether or not they can afford medical services.
ninsiima@observer.ug
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