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Continued from page 1 – Gambia’s President Can Cure AidsThe biggest concern is that the Gambian leader requirespatients to cease their anti-retroviral drugs, a move thatrisks weakening their immune systems and making themeven more prone to infection, said Dr. Antonio Filipe Jr.,head of the World Health Organization in neighboringSenegal.WHO: ‘There is no cure for AIDS’Since January, when he announced his cure to a gatheringof foreign diplomats, Jammeh has thrown thebureaucratic machinery of this small West Africancountry behind the claim. The last six news releases onGambia’s official Web site are dedicated to thepresident’s treatment, available to Gambians free ofcharge. Regular radio and TV addresses publicize it andthe Health Ministry has issued a declaration of support.Although the HIV rate is relatively low in Gambiacompared to other African nations — 1.3 percent of thecountry’s 1.6 million people are infected — thepresident’s claim has left international healthorganizations in a bind.WHO’s Filipe was diplomatic about Jammeh’s claims,saying his organization respects the president’s point ofview. But, he added: “As the World Health Organization,we would like to state quite clearly the following — No.1: so far there is no cure for AIDS.”Jammeh, a 41-year-old former army colonel who wrestedgained control in a 1994 coup, says his treatment isentirely voluntary and argues that his medications cannotbe mixed with other drugs because “I don’t want anycomplications.”The claim of a cure has prompted comparisons to theSouth African minister of health who won internationalridicule last year for suggesting that a diet of garlic, beetroot and lemon juice is more effective than anti-retroviraldrugs. South African President Thabo Mbeki has beenaccused of not addressing the epidemic: His governmentdid not provide AIDS drugs until a lawsuit by AIDSactivists forced it to in 2002.Jammeh has gone to great lengths to prove his claim,sending blood samples of the first nine patients to a lab inSenegal for testing.A letter on the lab’s stationery indicates that of the nine,four had undetectable viral loads, one had a moderateviral load and three had high loads, a result posted on thegovernment’s Web site as proof of a cure.However, the lab technician who performed the testswarned they are not conclusive since the blood sampleswere only taken after the treatment.“There is no baseline ... You can’t prove that someone hasbeen cured of AIDS from just one data point. It’s dishonestof the Gambian government to use our results in this way,”said Dr. Coumba Toure Kane, head of the molecularbiology unit at Senegal’s Cheikh Anta Diop University.Waiting in plastic chairs for treatment at the presidentialcompound last week, Jammeh’s patients said they don’tneed lab results to tell them they feel better.“It feels as if the president took the pain out of my body,”Ousman Sowe, 54, told the AP. Diagnosed with HIV in1996, he is among the first nine men and women Jammehhas treated and has been under the Gambian leader’s carefor nearly a month.“My appetite has come back and I have gained weight,”said Lamin Ceesay, thin from a nine-year battle with HIV.Jammeh has refused to disclose details of his herbalconcoction, saying only that it uses seven plants, “three ofwhich are not from Gambia.”‘You will all be cured’Treatment begins with the president applying the greenpaste, stored inside a deli-style plastic container. Nextcomes a gray-colored solution contained in an old Evianbottle and splashed on the patient’s skin. This is followedby a yellowish, tealike brew which patients are asked todrink. The therapy is administered many times over severalweeks.After the treatment session last week, Jammeh emergedcarrying a tall wooden staff, a string of Islamic prayerbeads and a leather-bound Quran. In front of him, 30 newpatients waited on lawn chairs, drawn from the roughly20,000 people currently living with HIV in Gambia.He told them that during treatment, they must ceasedrinking alcohol, tea and coffee. They also cannot eat kolanuts or have sex.Jammeh then held up the Quran, pointing it at each of thepatients: “In the name of Allah, in three to 30 days you willall be cured,” he said.The patients were then herded into a minibus and driven toan empty hospital ward on the outskirts of the capital,where they will stay in dormitory-style rooms with sheetscovering the windows.Lying on a mat on the tiled floor in the hospital ward, a 19-year-old girl struggled to say her name, spitting graycoloredphlegm into her scarf. Like everyone else in theconcrete ward, she is banned from taking anti-retroviraldrugs.Nearby was 25-year-old Amadou Jallow, who recently quithis job at a tourist hotel after his mother was diagnosedwith AIDS. Continued on page 7-2-Traditional African Clinic – October 2007

AFRIKAN SPIRITUALITYHerbalism as a Religion –(A Way of Life)*Rashan Abdul HakimHerbalism is the original religion or way of life practiced bymankind before it was polluted and broken down intodifferent denominations. Herbalism is a way of life based onobeying the laws of nature which is the laws of the MostHigh (GOD).Once you obey the laws of nature, which include rising withthe sun and going down with the sun, then one begins tobecome in harmony with the forces of nature and all that's inharmony with those forces such as insects, animals, plants,etc. Herbalism is the way of life that puts us back on the pathto oneness with the most High (GOD).In Ancient African Herbalism, the healing spirits of the herbsare used to heal one physically, mentally and spiritually. Justby being in the physical presence of the herbs or trees, themedicinal properties of the plants are transmitted directly intothe body by the plants without you picking a leaf, flower orany part of the plant.Indians and African people also pick the fresh herb and brushdown the ailing person with it, thereby driving out negativevibrations and other evil forces and transmitting thenutritional and medicinal properties of the plant through thelinking of the plant and patient via the universal magnetism.This is one of the natural forces of nature, which is amanifestation of the Most High (GOD). If you check yourblood you will find elements of plants in your bloodstream.The Sun is the center of the way of life known as Herbalism.The Sun is the physical manifestation of the Most High, theprovider of all light and life to this planet and the entire solarsystem. Herbs are in complete harmony with the Most Highand radiate the spirit of the Almighty. Therefore, being inharmony with them will bring you in harmony with the lawsof nature and closer to oneness with the Most High.The Sun is the form in which the Most High chooses tomanifest himself to the physical senses of mankind. Withoutthe Sun there would be no light or life on earth. Everythingwe use to sustain our lives comes from the Sun directly orindirectly. The Sun makes the plants grow, bear fruit,strengthen and rejuvenate us, and supplies us with physical________________________Managing Editor: Nakato LewisPUBLISHER: KIWANUKA LEWISPublished monthly and freely by BHSN for the African TraditionalHerbal Research Clinic-3-Traditional African Clinic – October 2007The traditional shrine as a symbol of our cultural historyfoods, fruits, vegetables, grains, and tubers, all of whichcontain condensed sunlight.For those reasons our Ancient ancestors, African andIndian, paid homage to the Sun, giver of all light and life,the powers of the Most High (GOD) which they saw asthe life force that emanates through the entire universeand makes us one. Present day religious philosophies areusing the same formula, only changing names, dates andplaces, adding things to suit their own culture and way oflife. For example, the Christians replace the word Sunwith the Son using as its most religious symbol, an imageof a man nailed on a cross with blood dripping from hishead, hands and feet. The culture that comes out of it is ablood-thirsty one. The religion of a people represents andreflects the culture and way of life of those who practiceit.Judaism and Islam are no different. What has happenedfrom the time of the fall of mankind, is that each group ofpeople set up their own religion and their own conceptionof the Most High which is in harmony with theirphilosophy and okays their evil deeds. For example, thePope of Rome blessed the soldiers that Mussolini sentinto Ethiopia to slaughter African people for their ownland. He also blessed Columbus and gave him his blessingto perform genocide on the Native American Indians ofNorth, South and Central America and the Indians of theCaribbean Islands. For same reason Israel took thePalestinian land and put the people in refugee camps andjustified it because their "God" says it's their land. TheArabs also exploited the Islamic way of life to furthertheir own culture and way of life in the name of the MostHigh.All religions not in harmony with the laws of nature, thenatural laws of the Most High, are false because they arenot based on the natural laws of the Most High. Adheringto the natural laws would bring us in oneness with theuniverse, physically, mentally and spiritually.Herbalism as a way of life or the original religion, has tobe lived daily. It's not enough just to know what herbs areContinued on page 10

African Traditional Herbal Research ClinicVolume 2, Issue 7 NEWSLETTER July 2007FEATURED ARTICLESHerbal Cure for HIV/AIDSBy Kunle SanyaoluThe GuardianA SMALL, innocuous story on the Human ImmunoDeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune DeficiencySyndrome (HIV/AIDS) appeared on page 3 of TheGuardian on Monday, with the headline "Institutediscovers herbal cure for AIDS, say forestry boss." Thestory was a short six-paragraph story. Even morestriking, is the fact that only the first two paragraphsrelate to the headline. It read: "Hope of a lasting cure tothe dreaded HIV/AIDS brightened at the weekend asthe Executive Director of the Forestry ResearchInstitute of Nigeria (FRIN), Dr. Solomon Badejodisclosed that the institute has discovered medicinalplants for the treatment of the disease and other similarailments. An elated Badejo disclosed this in IbadanOyo State capital while conducting the Minister ofEnvironment, Housing and Urban Development, chiefHelen Esuene round the institute." The four otherparagraphs in the story were about some achievementsrecorded by the institute over the years.Perhaps the story was short because of the absence ofdetails about the institute's discovery on HIV/AIDS.Certainly the report and statements credited to theExecutive Director were sketchy. However, this is not astory one dismisses casually. The reason is that theHIV/AIDS scourge has been shown to be real endemicand spreading wildly. Years of research have notproduced a cure to any popular level. In the past, claimsof a cure have been subjected to much public scrutinythat often left the claimant emotionally bruised. Theclaim of one Dr. Abalaka is still fresh. Yet there ishardly any disease that has so much stigma attached toit like HIV/AIDS. This has to do partly with the fact ofits being transmittable through sexual contact. The factthat HIV/AIDS can be transmitted through variousother channels has not reduced its stigma. So, thepublic sees anyone identified with the disease as beingsexually promiscuous, even if he contracted it throughblood transfusion. Experts have said once that thestigma of HIV/AIDS is posing more burdens to somepatients than the disease itself. Any claim of a curemust be handled thoroughly and explored fully. Africaowes a duty to itself to find a cure for HIV/AIDS. Butit must be ready to contend with blackmail andinternational treacheries to discourage it andundermine her efforts. AIDS is real, but the westernworld is doing a lot to entrench not just the reality butthe myth about it being incurable and rampant inAfrica.As the most populous black nation in the world,Nigeria can find a cure to HIV/AIDS. Blood-relateddiseases are many in Nigeria and Africa, the readyexample being malaria. Even now, malaria isconsidered to be the greatest killer-disease in Africa.Orthodox medicine over the past 60 years has done alot to reduce malaria-induced death. And we know alsothat malaria incidence can be reduced or managed bymaintaining a clean environment, clearing bushes andstagnant water among others. More importantly,medical evolution over the years - with chloroquineand now artemisin-based therapies, are providingreasonable forces against malaria. Yet the battle is notwon as the disease keeps adapting to the onslaughtagainst it and developing resistance to the drugs.Malaria may be a common ailment in Africa now, butit is a most difficult disease to treat. To compound theproblem in Nigeria is the high incidence of fake andadulterated or substandard drugs, which pose evengreater danger to patients and the society. Yet, thereare people who live in the midst of malaria infectedenvironment and hardly ever catch malaria. Some ofthem don't know why. But others strongly believe theirseeming immunity is due to their regular intake ofherbal therapies. That is why in spite of orthodoxmedical reports frequently raising alarm about the hightoxicity of some herbs and the absence of informationabout others, Nigerians cannot desist from takingthem.Continued on page 5-4-Traditional African Clinic – October 2007

Continued from page 4 – Herbal Cure for HIV/AIDSThere is need for people like Dr. Badejo and otheradministrators of research institutes as well as medicalcentres to document their finding and present them tothe appropriate ministries. The ministries of health,environment, science and others should be interestedin what Badejo is saying. But the interest should not belimited to running down the finding or seeking tonullify it against some western standard. In the past,medical authorities have been too anxious to knockdown a cure claim, much because it did not meet somewestern-set standard. The western world is never goingto come to Africa's aid in the real sense of it becausewestern countries are making a fortune from theHIV/AIDS campaign. They do donate huge sums topoor African countries to combat the scourge. Butthese gestures have always been offered with verystringent conditions that offer benefit more to thedonor countries than to the aided ones.The HIV/AIDS' industry is a big one. We in Africaprobably may not easily know the extent to which thecampaign is helping to sustain western countries. Inthe long run, we have to help ourselves in searchingfor HIV/AIDS cure. In the long run too, herbalmedicine probably offers the greatest possibility. Weneed to get over the age- old stigma of holdingtraditional or herbal medicine as being difficult todocument. When westerners say this, the intention isnot to promote herbal cure in any form. And whenAfricans or Nigerians echo the statement, they arefalling prey to western strategy to perpetuallydominate us.At the moment, many hospitals are turning downpatients whose ailment they cannot understand. Theybrand them as being under spiritual attack. Many suchpatients actually respond to herbal treatment whengiven by authentic traditional doctors. And there aremany of these doctors around who confidently layclaim to treating HIV/AIDS and other pandemics.What is lacking now is spirited effort by the healthauthorities to mobilise these people, subject them torigorous test with a view to assessing their claim andfinding a true cure. This will require a drastic and offhandedapproach which unfortunately is apparently notbeing favoured. But we have to conduct research onblood-cleaning remedies through herbs and traditionalmedicine.Apart from a cure for HIV/AIDS, orthodox medicalresearch has also not been able to answer manyquestions on the issue. Researches conducted incountries where the scourge is widespread tend toshow some people exposed to the risk yet seeminglyimmune from contracting the disease. Why? Some oftentest HIV-positive but never develop AIDS symptoms.Why? One thing is certain. The scourge is endemic andpervasive among very poor people with degradingenvironment. Certainly, it has close affinity to poverty, aspoor people are less likely to feed adequately and aretherefore likely to be less resistant to diseases. TheHIV/AIDS is about a reduction in the body's natural abilityto repel and fight diseases. Unfortunately, when ThaboMbeki, President of South Africa tried to make a case onpoverty reduction as a way to perceive the disease, he wasshouted down into submission. And his opponents simplypoint to growing incidence of HIV/AIDS in South Africa.The fact remains however that factors such as illiteracy,poverty and unhealthy environment support the spread ofthe disease.One reason why Nigerians must face the initiative infinding herbal cure for HIV/AIDS is that anti-retroviraldrugs that are presently meant to suppress the developmentof AIDS in HIV patients are expensive and not easilyaccessible by patients. They are manufactured largelyabroad. Their importation is a big drain on the localeconomy. They are known to make patients verydependent on them such that once they are off the drug,their deterioration is rapid, as they cannot generateimmunity or resistance. And the drugs are known topossess a large dose of unpleasant side effects that poseanother set of health crises to patients.Questions have been asked by learned medical professorsin and out of Africa as to whether there is no internationalconspiracy about HIV/AIDS against Africa. Largely, theWestern world tries to portray Africa as having the worstform of promiscuity and sexual practices. Is this true?Originally, HIV/AIDS was associated with homosexualswho are prevalent in the Western countries. Now, the sameWest tries to trace HIV/AIDS origin to some Africanmonkeys. Nigeria has not sufficiently pondered on thesequestions for reasons bordering largely on bad governance.But we cannot continue to ignore them because in the longrun, the HIV/AIDS ratio may very well be in form ofNigeria against the rest of the world. We may be able toavoid this stigma by finding herbal cure for the disease.http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/editorial_opinion/article03☻☻☻☻☻☻☻-5-Traditional African Clinic – October 2007

African Traditional Herbal Research ClinicVolume 2, Issue 7 NEWSLETTER July 2007FEATURED ARTICLESModern Medicine’s PlagiarismModern medicine is making an effort to incorporatealternative remedies (i.e. herbs, vitamins, etc.) into itstreatment modalities. The use of "alternative" holisticmeasures by modern medical practitioners somehowmakes herbal remedies acceptable to the masses, someof whom are glad that they may now be covered by"health" insurance and Medicare/Medicaid. Cashreimbursements may also be allowed.Although this appears to be a positive step in the rightdirection on the part of modern medicine, don't bemisled. The addition of herbs and vitamins to therepertoire of surgical mutilation, dangerous drugs, toxicradiation and chemotherapy provides greater benefitsfor modern medicine than it does for both the patientsand "alternative" medicine combined.Modern medicine is a term from European/Westernmedicine which has to be examined for what it is: thedistorted and perverted use of African/holistic medicaltechnology. European/Western/"Modern" medicine isan amalgamation of superstitions, myths, and theoriessuch as "germs cause diseases." Commingled in thecesspool are African non-invasive surgery, chiropracticadjustments, gynecology, physical examinationmethods, such as listening to the heart, liver, kidney,lungs, pulse. Despite the fact that there are over 32different pulses, Western practitioners take only onepulse on the wrist.The oldest documented usage ofmedical technology is in the Africanbooks of 1550 B.C.E and 1700 B.C.E(before the common era).The early Europeans stole and mistranslated thesebooks. Thus, the perversion of African holisticmodalities spawned the birth of modern medicine.Modern 19th century medical practitioners typically"treated patients with turpentine, arsenic, borax, sulfur,nitric acid, alcohol, lye, iodine, blood-letting andmenstrual blood. Few herbs were used for treatingdiseases and injuries.Dr. Llaila AfrikaMost early European-American doctors used textbookswritten for "savage, animal-like beasts" such as Biologyof the Negro by Lewis. Among the many documents onthe medical practices that were forced on Africancaptives are the records of the New Orleans MedicalNews and Hospital Gazette (1860); James A. TaitPapers (Alabama State Dept. of Archives and History);Capell Plantation Diary (1857); Advice AmongMasters, and Records of Dirleton (1853) by James R.Sparkman, etc.The intent of Western/Modern medicine is to dominateholistic medicine. The success/happiness/income/goodlife of the modern medicine practitioner depends upondominating (oppressing, suppressing, victimizing,inferiorizing) others--particularly Africans--throughmedicine.Western medicine intends to expand its economic base(market) by using conscious people who are inclinedtoward natural health. This includes health-mindedBlack people. Modern medicine can now mandate theuse of drugs combined with herbs because it is nowsocially approved by those who favor herbs.All drugs work against melanin and destroy, modify, oralter (mutate), the spirit, the body, and the mind and,therefore, the behavior of members of our community.Modern medicine is losing money, because too manypatients are switching to herbal remedies. In order toincrease their market share, they are increasing their useof alternative/holistic African medicine combined withsynthetic toxic chemicals (drugs).-6-Traditional African Clinic – October 2007Combining poisonous drugs withherbs is impossible, as each aremutually exclusive. Drugs poison anddestroy the body, while herbs nourishand build the body.African/holistic medicine is melanin based on melanindominant Africans. European/Modern medicine isbased around those with a different body chemistry.Continued on page 7

Continued from page 6 – Modern Medicine’s PlagiarismAfrican holistic health emanates the principles of Maat:harmonious living. African science is like the ancientAfricans from which it originated: galactic, solar, lunar,and earth...rhythmical and cyclic.Unfortunately, there are those who give away still morevaluable African/holistic techniques to Western"science", perhaps to gain social acceptance or "equality"among "scientific" predators.Meanwhile, a war is being waged against African peoplevia food and drug advertisements featuring popularentertainers and athletes; toxic images; music and media;medicine; politics; and water, air, and herbs - all in thename of European domination and supremacy.Thus, there is much to liberate and reclaim in order forBlack people to enjoy complete well-being. The first stepto such a resurrection of African health is understandingand embracing the holistic knowledge of our ancestors.It is never too late, there is only now.Liaila Olela Afrika, Doctor of Naturopathy is one of thepioneers in traditional ethno-medicine (health remediesbased upon racial biochemistry). Dr. Afrika is renown forhis in-depth knowledge of diet, health, disease, healingtechniques, herbs, supplements, history, and culture. Heis a health consultant, historian, lecturer, and author ofthe best selling African health book, African HolisticHealth. Reprinted with permission of the editor ofBlack Healer Newsletter©, copyright 2000. Allrights reserved.☻☻☻☻☻☻☻Continued from page 2 – Gambia President Says HeCan Cure AIDSIn his savings account is $296 — enough, he said, to lasthim the 30 days Jammeh promises it will take to heal hismother.“I’m just afraid that, what if my account runs low?” hesaid. “But by then, I think she will be cured.”URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17244005/☻☻☻☻☻☻☻Herbal Drugs Fail to CureAIDS in Zambia TrialsAgence France PresseFebruary 23, 2007LUSAKA, Feb 23, 2007 (AFP) - Zambia's governmentannounced Friday that widely publicised herbal drugsheld to cure AIDS have been proved ineffective afterclinical trials conducted on dozens of HIV patients.Health Minister Angela Cifire said the six-month trialconducted on 26 HIV-positive volunteers showed that thetraditional herbs could prolong the lives of sufferers butfell short of a much anticipated cure."The herbal medicines that were under study do not cureHIV infection," Cifire said in a statement. She said theherbalists claimed that the drugs could cure AIDS withina period of three months but experts decided to give it alonger period, which still failed to yield positive results.Out of 79 herbs presented for research by traditionalhealth practitioners, only three qualified to undergo athorough clinical trial, Cifire said."None of the 26 participants died and no side effects wereobserved," she said.But the herbalists have insisted that they can cure AIDSand asked for the trials to be continued with a biggersample of patients."The sample was too small and the period was also notlong enough for effective monitoring of patients," saidRodwell Vongo, chairman of the Traditional HealthPractitioners of Zambia.The government spent 1.4 billion kwacha (about 340,000dollars) on the trial.Zambia, which has a population of about 11 million, hasa HIV prevalence rate of 16 percent and the governmentis only providing free anti-retroviral drugs to 75,000people.Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has recently comeunder fire for claiming that he can cure AIDS within amatter of days by administering special herbs.AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt,educational corporation. AEGiS is made possiblethrough unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim,Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library ofMedicine, Bridgestone/Firestone Charitable Trust,Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, and donations fromusers like you.-7-http://www aegis org/channel/s/AF070237 htmlTraditional African Clinic October 2007

African Traditional Herbal Research ClinicVolume 2, Issue 7 NEWSLETTER July 2007FEATURED ARTICLESRole of Plants and Herbs in the Body as Food andMedicineKiwanuka R.G. LewisAfrican Traditional Herbal Research CentreBlackherbals at the Source of the Nile, UG Ltd.Living foods are foods that are not changed by fire,artificial chemicals or by man. This includes foodsthat retain their natural substances such as nuts,seeds, tubers, fruits, vegetables, fresh fruit andvegetable juices and all foods that are not denatured.When we take food into our bodies, we generallytake in fire, earth, air and metal elements, which areenveloped in the food substances. Air and waterderangement are responsible for many of thesicknesses we are experiencing today. Medicalscience has done much to investigate the mechanismsbehind disease, but it has only recently begun tostudy the reasons that people stay healthy based onthe foods they eat.Thousands of years ago, the ancient Egyptians hadthe unique perspective that human beings are morethan flesh and blood, proteins, fats, and nucleic acids.They believed that the life-force is part of the spiritthat animates all living creatures. The radiance, orfrozen light that circulates in the body is a uniqueform of vibrational energy. This light energy is anaspect of human nature that is not taught in Eurocentrichealth science, nor well understood by mostWestern nutritionists. The ancient Egyptians maintainthat we are beings of energy and light. If this is true,then it follows that our bodies can be affected byenergy and light waves. From this perspective, onecan begin to comprehend the ways of choosing foods,and medicines to maintain balanced health. Instead ofconventional approaches to nutrition such as countingvitamins, minerals, proteins, fats, calories, etc., ourAfrican ancestors treated people with radiant foodnutrition, also called "Photo-biogenics." Themolecular arrangement of the physical body isactually a complex network of interwoven energyfields of light.Our unique energy systems are affected by ouremotions and levels of spiritual balance as well asthrough the foods that we eat. These subtle energies-8- Traditional African Clinic October 2007influence cellular patterns of growth, the aging process,and physical balance. Highly melanised people must betreated with different health standards than whites. Thecurrent nutritional standards are based on whitebiochemistry and the daily dietary requirements areprescribed according to the needs of whites, which do notstore and radiate energy the way that blacks do.Whenever we ingest a particular food, its radiant energycan either correct or disturb the human energy systemwithin our bodies. Not only can foods rebalance thephysical body, but can also lift the consciousness andspiritual awareness. According to our ancient wisdom,food is the means by which we re-create the world asourselves. Our spiritual nature interacts with theproperties of the foods we eat. So through food, weembody the sun and the cosmic energies of the Universeto regenerate our spiritual essence.Food and Herbs as MedicineThe use of herbs as medicine and as aids to health is anancient African tradition. Thousands of years ago, ourancestors believed that health was a balance of physical,mental, emotional and spiritual elements. It is only whena system of medicine recognizes all of these levels in theindividual can it be regarded as being truly "holistic."Today, we also know that most herbs have healingpowers. Africans in the Diaspora have moved far awayfrom their African lifestyles of foraging for wild herbs.However, we can reintroduce herbs into our daily regimeand diet as we once did in Mother Africa.One of the major problems confronting the descendentsof Africans today has been the rise of degenerative andchronic illnesses--the "diseases of Caucasiancivilization." Heart attacks, high blood pressure, cancer,diabetes, hypertension and obesity are diseases connectedto European culture, which appeared soon after themodern development of agriculture and the industrializeddomestication of animals for food production. It hasbecome greatly apparent that the major illnesses sufferedContinued on page 9

Continued from page 8 – Role of Plants and Herbs….by African people today are promoted by a mismatchbetween our genetic constitution and a variety oflifestyle factors inherited through American andEuropean culture.Herbal medicine is still the medicine of choice forthree-quarters of the Earth’s population. The basicprinciples of natural healing, herbal healing inparticular, is that man is a part of nature and can, ifgiven the right encouragement and support, healhimself. He can do this both emotionally andphysically using the principles of right living and theuse of mild herbs and raw foods. We also need tobalance ourselves through diet, exercise, mental andemotional attitudes and experiences, which is called“freedom of the spirit.” We need to balance health firstthrough proper nutrition with the help of herbs servingas special foods for both body and mind. Because ofour melanized constitution, African people are able toabsorb more stimuli and utilize nutrients better, whichbrings Africans closer in harmony with nature. Therecan be no true healing with herbs if the diet remainsthe contributing cause in sustaining the disease.We must introduce high quality foods in place of alower quality diet in our bodies. This principle appliesto all our major food groups. As we go higher on thescale of quality, the closer our food comes in thenatural state in which it occurs; whole, raw andunrefined. In this condition, all enzymes are foundintact. Amino acids are in their finest form. Theminerals, proteins, hormones, vitamins, trace elementsand carbohydrates capable of reproducing healthytissue are present. When an individual makes aconscious choice to use natural herbs and foods to healthemselves, it encourages a respect for harmonizingone’s self with nature and the universal forces. This isthe plan of nature.Food as ToxinsThere are many different types of ailments and whenwe recognize that most ailments have a commonsource then it becomes easier to understand the natureof such diseases. Arthritis, rheumatism, high bloodpressure, etc., all of these are common ailments thatresult from the accumulation of waste in the system.Different types of waste are given different names. Forexample, when uric acid is present in the body andstarts to lodge mostly in the muscles and joints, it isdefined as arthritis and rheumatism. When the samewaste lodges in the veins and arteries, it is calledvaricose veins and when it lodges in the gall bladder orthe urinary tract, it is called gallstones or kidneystones.Mucus is another type of waste that comes from suchfoods as milk, butter, eggs, cheese, rice, flour and “deadmeats.” These foods leave a lot a mucus and uric acid inthe body. Mucus also lodges in the lungs and thebreathing passages. Based upon the amount and where itlodges, it is known by different names such as asthma,bronchitis and emphysema. All of these are aspects of thesame ailment, where mucus accumulates in the breathingpassages and obstructs the flow of air to the lungs. Themucus, lodged in our bodies, provides the breedingground for all types of viruses including the AIDS virusand any other type of virus, germ and bacteria.Such an environment is the mucus from the foods weconsume that allows different viruses and germs to breedand multiply and attack various systems of the body.They attack the immune system and do a number ofthings from that point of reference. We have to starttaking certain precautions now to protect our family andto protect our community from these types of viruses andailments that will be coming around. We have to dealwith the everyday ailments that are based on ourimproper diet and lifestyle. Ninety percent of all ailmentsthat affect us come from the accumulation of waste in thebody, waste from different types of foods. Many of theseailments have the same treatment which is basicallycleansing the blood, cleansing the stomach, cleansing theintestines and the bowels and cleansing the body cavityof accumulated mucus. Once you clean that waste out,you are going to get results, just by changing your dietalone. Any ailment you have is going to showimprovement if you avoid milk, butter, eggs, cheese, rice,flour, chicken, red meat, can foods and wheat. Thesefoods are not really compatible with our biologicalmakeup as African people.We have to go back to eating foods that are morecompatible with our biological makeup--foods like milletinstead of rice, an ancient traditional grain, and groundfood such as cassava which are much more compatible.Cassava, for example, contains natural steroids, so wedon't need to take unnatural steroids. Cassava, or any typeof ground food, builds tissue and muscle and makes theskin very resilient. Also, cassava contains elements thatprevent blood cells from sickling. These foods are veryimportant to us as African people."In cleansing the body", the stomach, intestines and thebowels are the major areas of concentration. These arethe main breeding grounds for parasites. Ninety percentof all cancers and ailments have parasites. Parasites eatthe living cells, pass waste and contaminate the cellsaround it. These parasites breed and multiply in yourintestines, bowels and colonic areas. They come from thefood that ferments, creating a great deal of gas and acid inContinued on page 11-9- Traditional African Clinic October 2007

Continued from page 3 – Herbalism as a Religionused for, but to be able to recognize them. If you can't,you will be like an astrologer who cannot go out at nightand point out the stars and constellations. They justpractice it theoretically but don't really know or are inharmony with it. It's just mental and not spiritual.Plants are in total harmony with the laws of theAlmighty: they rise up with the sun, (blooms) and godown with the sun, receiving the life-giving, rejuvenatingforces of nature. In so doing they give thanks and praiseto the Most High and receive the blessings of the healingspirits of the universe, which is at its peak early in themorning before and during sunrise. The healing forcesare the manifestations of the Most High and will bring usback to our natural state of good health.Rising with the sun is the first step in getting back inharmony with nature and the Almighty. So we can get thehealing spirits of the herbs without making teas, tinctures,etc., just by being in the presence of the herbs. In order toreceive the 100% healing spirit of the herbs we have to bein harmony with the laws of nature which is the laws ofthe Most High. Outside of that we have to go to the levelof using the herbs as teas, tinctures, etc. using certaintraditional rules that governs harvesting, curing, etc.For best results, herbs should be picked in harmony withtheir ruling planets and the movement of the heavenlybodies: moon, sun, signs, etc. If you don't know the rulingplanets or signs of the herbs, use the sun and the moonalone.When harvesting herbs, one should do so with love andkindness. Let the plant know what you want, then it willgive it freely. However, if you break off a branch or leafwithout letting the plant know, then at the touch, thatplant will draw all its elements to the roots, leaving youwith just some leaves in your hands.Herbs: should be picked on the full moon and just aftersunrise. The magnetic pull of the full moon and risingsun, draws all the elements from the roots to the leaves.Herbs should also be harvested when in bloom, justbefore going to seed or fruit.Roots: should be harvested on the waning moon, inspring time before blooming, just before sunrise or aftersunset.Barks: should be harvested on the full moon, in the fallor spring time after sunrise. Remember wild herbs aresuperior to cultivated herbs and should be used ifpossible.Drying: herbs, roots, barks, especially aromatic ones,should be dried in the shade, with maybe a little morning-10- Traditional African Clinic October 2007rising sun for a couple of hours.Naturally in the plant kingdom, most herbs have male andfemale species. In most cases the female plant is used, butin some cases, specific genders are used for specificailments in male and female. This is another side ofherbalism that's not adhered to and it makes a difference.This is another aspect that one should look into whenharvesting as well.There are also certain plants for the use of women only andsome for men only.The first medical knowledge or method of curing diseaseafter the fall of mankind was the use of herbs, roots, barks,berries, fruits, etc., sunlight, natural magnetism, moonlight,dew water, starlight, crystals and other stones.After the second fall of man, man started to eat dead meat(animal flesh) and upset the entire balance of nature,bringing about the system of one species eating another orthe dog-eats-dog survival of the fittest. This introducedailments like leprosy, tumors, cancers, etc. and a newsystem of healing was practiced by the ancient Ethiopians,called Egyptians by the Greeks. That system was known asdietetics or using the diet to bring about healing. A popularsaying used by African doctors, which was coined byImhotep the Wise is: "Let your food be your medicineand your medicine your food". This saying was latercopied by Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine,who was taught everything he knew by African physicians.The oldest written medical literature is the Papyrus Ebersand the Smith papyrus named after the man who foundthem. They date back thousands of years before there was aGreek or Roman Empire and they themselves are copies ofmuch older writings. These documents are now in the N.Y.Academy of Medicine and are the foundation of westernmedicine.The Ancient African documents include instructions onmystical methods of using the natural forces of nature tocure disease of the body and mind, pathology, anatomy,herbal pharmacology, various methods of diagnosingailments and the functions of all bodily organs. Hippocratesdid his internship in ancient Ethiopia under the direction ofAfrican physicians. Imhotep is known as the universal godof medicine, and is the founder of mankind's first hospital.THE HEALING SPIRITS OF HERBSAll herbs have spirits and different herbs are at differentlevels of spiritual development, which make the healingspirit of one herb stronger than another. There are manyways of releasing and using the healing spirits of herbswhich are constantly being radiated from all plants. Onecan absorb the healing spirit by inhaling the aroma of theContinued on page 11

Continued from page 10 – Herbalism as a Religionherbs, taking a bush smoke or steam bath, brushing downone's body with fresh herb, etc. Also, smoking someherbs but to a lesser degree. By drinking herb teas alone,one gets a healing and cleansing of the physical structure,but that does not uplift the mind to the level of bringingone in harmony with the Universal Mind.Some highly developed herbs spiritually are: Spirit weed,Jamaican wild sweet basil, Mugwort, Tansy, Search-miheart,Mug bush, Rue and Cannabis.*Excerpts from Basic Herbs for Health and Healing.Reprinted with the permission of Rudy Duckett, copyright1989. All rights reserved. Rashan Abdul Hakim(Ruddy Duckett), A.K.A. "Bush Doctor"Rashan Abdul Hakim, born in Jamaica, is a well-knownherbalist in the New York area. He hosts a radio programentitled "Health at Sunrise" on 93.5 FM WRTN. He alsolectures at colleges, teaches herbal classes, givesinstructional nature walks and gives herbalconsultations. Mr. Hakim has made herbology hislifelong interest and is devoted to its study. Mr. Hakimcomes from a family background of herbalists andhorticulturists. His grandfather, Charles Williams, was anoted horticulturist in Jamaica. A member of the BritishHorticultural Society, Charles Williams was instrumentalin the making of Hope Gardens in Jamaica, one of thelargest botanical gardens in the West Indies. Jamaica'sfirst independent nursery was the Williams' Nursery onOld Hope Road in Kingston. Mr. Hakim is the author ofBasic Herbs for Health and Healing.☻☻☻☻☻☻Continued from page 9 – Role of Plants and Herbs….the stomach. These are the same parasites that breed,multiply and contaminate the entire body. Anywhere theblood goes, these parasites can go. That's why cancer canspread to any part of the body. When cancer cells find anarea to lodge, they breed and multiply and contaminatethe entire area, then spread to other parts. Cut them off inthe stomach, intestines and the bowels and you will cutdown the population.We need to return to our culture and our heritage. Livingin this environment where we are in jeopardy, we need togo back to what our ancestors and grandparents did andhow they used to deal with common ailments. Theailments that are affecting us today are not common to us.☻☻☻☻☻☻The Need to Revive AfricanDietEditorialThe Daily Observer (Banjul)21 August 2007By extending his medical treatment to diseases, such ashigh blood pressure and hypertension, President YahyaJammeh has shown strong commitment to get rid of these"modern diseases".This move reminded us to the real causes of these emergingdiseases.Africans should resume to traditional diet to curb diabetesepidemic. Paradoxically, rates of obesity and diabetes insome African countries are up to 50 per cent higher than thenormal average, but reverting to a more traditional diet mayhelp address the problem.Should we retrieve ourselves from the “consumer class”?The answer is certainly no. But, there is an urgent need toassess our diet, transportation systems, and lifestyles oncelimited to the rich nations of Europe, North America, andJapan.Now is the time to move towards changing our diet; andindeed, examine our own patterns of consumption. There isno doubt that moving down the current food chain shouldbe a priority to all.In The Gambia, this might be a more persuasive position, ifthe health effects of heavy meat consumption, oil and sugarwere stressed. We believe that the dietary and life stylechanges are the root cause of diabetes epidemic amongAfrican peoples.A scientific approach will validate the wisdom of ourancestors who ate mainly berries, nuts and protein, ratherthan mostly carbohydrates.Traditional diet can help people lose weight and doesn'tseem to harm cholesterol. The more we eat local, the morewe are healthy but longer studies are needed to test, if ithelps to prevent or treat diabetes.In the meantime, the media should be involved in widercampaign to promote traditional diet. The development ofour local diet will bring a new synergy to the agriculturalsector.http://allafrica.com/stories/200708210818.html☻☻☻☻☻☻-11- Traditional African Clinic October 2007

Herbal Cure and theHIV/Aids DebateBy Sulayman JoofProgressive Africans (Banjul)February 3, 2007Recently, the Observer Newspaper of The Gambiacarried an article on the successful treatment ofHIV/Aids by the President and Head of State, Alhagi,Dr. Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh, secretive herbal concoctions,notably handed down to him from his forbearers who intheir time, were well known and revered herbalists. Infact, rumor has it that President Jammeh's grand fathertreated and cured the first President of some malignantailment he suffered, following a helicopter crash hemiraculously survived in 1981.It is also a well known fact that President Jammeh'sown father was an eminent herbalist also specializing inrestoring broken bones, among a miscellany of ailmentsthat he was presented with. It is therefore baffling thatAfricans, particularly some doubting Gambians, wouldchoose to remain faithless in the pronouncement of acure for a disease that affects the human being, usingherbal and traditional means.We know that herbal curatives are nature's first gift tomankind to care for himself. Before the advent ofscience, man was taking good care of himself and to alarge extent, enjoying a healthy and vibrant living: Justimagine, all the challenges and rough and tough lifeman was exposed to but, was able to survive and procreate,producing strong and beautiful races. Why thenshould it surprise any one that a natural cure exists for ahuman-related disease.It is also an open secret that it is not Africa alone thathas its secrets. Every civilization, every race has itsown mysticism, a gift of God that is all around us, butknown and mastered by a select few. All the ancientbooks of knowledge and religion teach us of thesesciences, some perhaps too weird for public knowledge,and others expunged from history, over the course oftime. Even Don Juan was believed to be gifted intalking to flowers and evincing different reactions fromthem. The relation of man and nature is not onlyscientific, it is mystical and therefore, divine. Scienceitself is mystical and divine. Two authoritative Booksof religion, the Holy Bible and the Glorious Quran,both contain irrefutable and instructive material on thegenesis of Creation no different from what science inits inferior way, also proclaim.We also know that people living next to nature, mostlyreferred to as bush people, are believed to have a seventhsense. They can communicate with animals; they knownature's life cycle unaided by science and technology; theycan sense imminent danger without the aid ofinstrumentation, etc.Herbalists can be divided into two broad categories: Thosewho were taught the art through a period of longapprenticeship and those who inherit the art but combinedwith mystical powers, normally handed down fromgeneration to generation. This second category most timescan pass on the knowledge of treatment but not the mysticalknowledge.It is hypocritical for any one, especially those in whosecountries the art/science of mysticism is still prevalent, tonot only doubt, but, try to dismiss the publicly displayedresults of the treatment of HIV/Aids in The Gambia by thePresident himself who hails from a long and highlyrespected tradition and lineage of herbalists.More nonsensical is the claim of the so-called professorwho not only takes issue with the issue, but, misplaces hismanners to spite the President. As a true professional it isexpected that the claim of cure would first be verifiedbefore being rebutted. Or, is President Jammeh spoiling itfor the big corporations who are poised to reap the wholeworld with treatment drugs, not to cure but, to arrest thespread of the disease.President Mbeki of South Africa never believed in the Aidsscare and was chastised by almost all and sundry. To-day,even scientists could not establish, prima facie, therelationship between HIV and AIDS. We congratulatePresident Jammeh for his sincere concern for humanity andurge him to remain focused on his crusade and benevolencein sharing his gift of God for the benefit of mankind.Alsaamadeh.Copyright © 2007 Progressive Africans.☻☻☻☻☻☻Can Herbalists Cure Syphilis?Daily MonitorJune 25, 2007Glenna GordonWhen Hajarah Namayanja arrives at the small herb shop inKatwe, she takes breakfast then gets down to work.She mixes herbs in a big saucepan with boiling water andfills empty plastic water bottles with the solution. Thesediment sinks to the bottom and the upper portion of thecontainer fills with discoloured water.Continued on page 13-12 - Traditional African Clinic October 2007

Continued from page 12- Can Herbalists Cure Syphilis?She places labels on each bottle: ‘Syphilis’, ‘Malaria’;Diarrhoea’ and the like.“I don’t know the name of the herbs but I’ve been trainedthat this one is for this and that one is for that, says theshy young lady, who sits behind a counter painted yellowamidst shelf after shelf of labeled bottles.The smallest bottle sells for as little as Shs 2,000 butprices go to as high as Shs 15,000. The best sellingbottles, says Ms. Namayanja are for malaria, coughs andulcers. “And syphilis too,” she adds.Although there are prescription drugs available atpharmacies, many Ugandans still prefer traditionalherbalists.It’s impossible to say how many herbalists there are inUganda, as they are as frequent and innumerable aspotholes or takeaways at the corner. There is an umbrellaassociation for herbalists but it is riddled with leadershipwrangles.The National Drug Authority recently bannedadvertisements by herbalists in the past without authorityfrom the body. Of late, herbalists and healers have comeunder attack.In the past month, at least 12 have been identified bypolice as tricksters who have made off with millions ofshillings from their customers.“It’s a form of conning people. They con millions andmillions of shillings,” says Kampala Extra RegionalPolice publicist Simeo Nsubuga.Weak LawsHowever, he added, “When they are arrested and taken tocourt, it’s a minor offence-just obtaining money by falsepretence.” The maximum sentence for conning is just fiveyears in prison, despite the fact that many have destroyedpeople’s lives. Herbalists – who sell potions, cures andmixes – are quick to disassociate themselves from the‘healers’ who claim they can obtain visas, jobs, recoverlost property and other such pretences.“I’m proud because I know I’m a good doctor,” saysHawandi Bawaki, who operates a kind of wholesaleoutlet for herbs tucked in a corner of St. BalikuddembeMarket. Bag after bag of concoctions in every shade ofbrown and tan lay underneath strands of seed and batcarcasses in her stall.She takes a pinch of one of the herbs and explains thatit’s for tumours, claiming that sitting near the steam ofwater boiled with herbs can even cure such sickness.Fresh CuresHer herbs, Ms Bawaki says, are better than pharmaciesbecause they are fresh. “The only thing doctors do that wecan’t is operations. The rest, we do better,” says MsBawaki, who claims that even medical doctors come to herstall when their cures fail.Once her customers are treated with the remedies sheoffers, Ms Bawaki says, “They never get sick again.”She acknowledges though that there are healers andherbalists out there who take advantage of people. “Fakesare there and they are very many,” she says. Many of thehealers who cures don’t work, say Ms Bawaki, are thosewho come to her to buy herbs in bulk and then dilute themso heavily that they can‘t cure as intended.“I personally take these herbs and they cure,” says MsNamayanja, the herbalist in Katwe. She adds that the onlytime clients have trouble with the cures is when they takehalf of the recommended dose or don’t complete thetreatment.Often, she says, customers can’t afford the full dose and sobuy half dose against her recommendation, MsNamayanja’s boss, Muhammad Rwegaba, says he doesn’tknow why the cures work. “It works because God createdit,” he says.Most herbalists in Kampala say they get their raw suppliesfrom villages, and even from other countries. DianaNlukenge, another herbalist in Katwe advises that when thecures don’t work on the first try, the customer returns andshe offers them a different herbal remedy. “It’s not possiblethat it doesn’t work the second time,” she says.All the herbalists say the money they make is decent;enough to live on and even save a bit. Ms Bawaki claims tomake as much as Shs 50,000 per day, and on a good day, upto Shs 100,000. Given that most Ugandans make a dollar aday; this profit margin, Ms Bawaki says, is why somepeople target healers and herbalists. “But I don’t sell fakethings,” she says. “I only give people what they ask for.”However, it helps to remember that one proven cure forsyphilis is a recommended dose of the antibiotic penicillin.-13 - Traditional African Clinic October 2007☻☻☻☻☻☻Otaala Warns Herbalists onAIDS CureEphraim KasoziDaily MonitorMay 16, 2007The Ministry of Health has warned traditional healthpractitioners agains claiming they cure HIV/AIDS.Continued on page 14

Continued from page 13 – Otaala Warns Herbalists on AidsCureMinister of State for Primary Health Care EmmanuelOtaala said herbalists make unconfirmed statementsthat they cure HIV/Aids, something that casts doubt ontheir work.“The clash between trained doctors and traditionalherbalists is a result of the unsubstantiated statementsthat herbalists cure HIV/Aids. Such drugs only havevitamins that help to cure optimistic infections but notthe virus,” Dr. Otaala said.The Minister was speaking at the closure of the sixthannual general meeting for the Traditional and ModernHealth Practitioners against Aids and other Diseases(Theta) in Kampala on Friday.Theta is an association of medical practitioners with theaim of increasing community access to health services.He warned traditional healers who extort money frompatients with claims that they will cure them of HIV.He asked herbalists to distance themselves from witchdoctors.Dorothy Balaba, the Executive Director of Theta askedthe government to support their work, saying manypatients seek treatment from their centres. She saidTheta is currently challenged by lack of documentationof information for research.☻☻☻☻☻☻Malinga wants TraditionalBirth Attendants Bannedfrom OperatingAliga IssaDaily MonitorOctober 25, 2006Health Minister Steven Malinga has said traditioneralbirth attendants should be banned from operatingsaying they have increased the rate of maternal andinfant mortality in the country.He said newly born babies and pregnant mother die inthe clinic or homes of traditional birth attendantsbcause they (attendants) are not well trained to identifybirth complication.Malinga was addressing medical workers and districtleaders in Masak during his familiarization tour in thedistrict on October 18. He said of 5,000 pregnantwomen, 506 die due to ill-trained people who attend tothem.-14- Traditional African Clinic October 2007He said infant mortality is at 42 per cent. Malinga urgedexpectant mothers to visit hospitals and health centresfor medical check-ups.He warned traditional doctors against advertisingthemselves and misleading the public in to thinking thatthey can cure them of HIV/Aids.He said many are quacks and they operate illegally.He urged the pubic to avoid them as the governmentdiscusses their operation.However, the chairman of Masaka Traditional HealersAssociation, Mr. Kayinga Kiggundu, opposed theminister’s statements saying almost 80 per cent of peoplein the district rely on services of traditional doctors toimprove their health.“The Minister would be wrong if our operations wereseized. Many patients who come to our clinics are curedwith our herbal medicine,” Kayinga said.Daily MonitorJuly 25, 2007☻☻☻☻☻☻What Herbs Can DoPatience AtuhaireIn Uganda, the extraction of health products fromnaturally and commonly occurring herbs has beenwidely embraced.From food supplements to ointments, beauty products,medicines and beverages, the list of health productsextracted from herbs is almost endless. Here are some ofthe wonder-working herbs that have been popularized.MoringaThis is a short stem, small-leaved tropical plant withvarious species, the commonest being Moringa oleifer.MODA Enterprises in the old Taxi Park as RichardKanyike the salesperson explains specializes in remediesfrom moringa. They include soap and jelly that softenand clear the skin of fungal infections. Powder, which isextracted from leaves or stems and roots is also said tobe an immune booster that can be put in hot water as abeverage or in food as a spice.There is also malarial treatment powder, cough syrup aswell as massage oil, which are derived from the differentparts of the plant. Dama Medicinal Herbs at Shoppers’Stop Plaza processes a wide variety of medicinalremedies from all sorts of herbs, some of the commonestbeing:Continued on page 15

Continued from page 14 – What Herbs Can DoAloe VeraA very short stemmed succulent plant that spreads byroot sprouts, Aloe vera can be processed in differentforms like powder, syrup, jelly or even boiling theleaves in water to be drank. It is seen to have variedfunctions including detoxification, treatment for fevers,skin growth, immunity stimulation, eliminating bodyodour, fighting obesity and viral hepatitis.EucalyptusOil from eucalyptus leaves, can be used for cleaningand in deodorants. Also, small extracts from leaves, thebark and roots are added in food supplements, coughdrops, and decongestants. The leaves, bark and rootscan be chewed in their natural state as remedies forcough and stomach upsets. Eucalyptus oil is said tohave insect repellent properties.SunflowerOil extracted from sunflower seeds is used for cooking.This oil is given the wide range of fatty acidcompositions it contains, some of which contain ahigher level of healthy fats.RosemaryThis woody, perennial herb with flagrant evergreenneedle-like broad leaves has a very old reputation forimproving memory, and has been widely used as asymbol for remembrance, according to theEncyclopaedia for Medicinal Plants. Fresh and driedleaves, when added to food, promote perspiration,relieve headaches, improve blood circulation andstimulate delayed menstruation. It is also added inshampoos.PeppermintWith its high menthol content, peppermint is often usedas a flavouring in tea, ice cream, confectionery,chewing gum, and toothpaste. When inhaled or appliedto the skin, it helps with upset stomach, inhibits thegrowth of certain bacteria and can help soothe and relaxmuscles. Other benefits are credited for its highmanganese, vitamin C and vitamin A content, andtraces of iron, calcium, potassium, manganese, omega-3 fatty acids and copper.LavenderThe most common species of this plant is CommonLavender, which yields a highly effective essential oilthat can be used in balms, perfume and other cosmetics.Joyce Kirbo of Dama Medicinal says that it can also beused as an antiseptic, or to relieve abdominal painsduring menstrual, stomach gas, headache and dizziness.GingerThe grass-like plant is one of the readily available herbsand is most consumed in its natural raw form. This legumeis mostly chewed to reduce stomach gas, aid digestion andalso to prevent nausea and vomiting.LemonThe Encyclopaedia for Medical Plants by George D.Pamplona-Roger states that lemons contain uniqueflavonoid compounds that have antioxidant and anticancerproperties that may deter cell growth in cancers andlimonins that could be anti-carcinogens. At DamaMedicinal lemon extracts are given for cough and sorethroats, rheumatism, kidney stones and allergies. Dilutedlemon juice is given for hair rinsing.CeleryCelery is a common vegetable and is also grown for itsseed. These (seeds) yield a valuable volatile oil used inpharmaceuticals. Its seeds and roots are used either aswhole spices or can be crushed and mixed with salt, scelery salt. The leaves stimulate appetite and juice extractedfrom the whole plant is taken for joint and urinary tractinflammations since it is said to contain calcium.☻☻☻☻☻☻-15- Traditional African Clinic October 2007Villager Finds a Life inEmbalming Dead Bodies withHerbsBy Fredrick Otieno, Smartbiz AfricaSunday MonitorAugust 12, 2007Working in a morgue is one of those jobs that have veryfew fans in the world. But for Mr Zacharia Oguma Ojwang,61, taking care of the dead is just one way of earning aliving. In his white goatee and a ready snarl, if the dark oldman removed his shirt, he would be a character out of themovie “The gods are not to blame.”The resident of Kangeso village in Rongo District inKenya’s Nyanza Province is revered for his wisdom. Butwhat has earned him admiration is the kind of job he doesin a village where the sight of a dead body activates theadrenalin.Mr Oguma says he was a mortuary attendant between 1978and 1984, working at Tononoka and Changamwe hospitalson the Kenyan coast, but left after his employer died and hehad to prepare him at the mortuary for his final restingplace. Getting another mortuary job, as Mr Oguma sadlylearnt, was about as hard as getting a morgue in the village.So he found a way to help villagers preserve dead bodies,using herbs, as they prepared for burial, sometimes waitingfor a close relative to fly in from overseas.Continued on page 20

Continued from page 16 – Herbal Holocaustother member countries to comply. International pressureis one of the main reasons cannabis is illegal in Canadatoday.HPB introduces exorbitant feesIn Canada, the process of using exorbitant taxes and feesto eliminate natural medicines from the market is alreadyin place, under the guise of "cost recovery".Once Health Canada decides that a herb or vitamin isactually a drug, they require that it receive a "DrugIdentification Number" (DIN). Although this is littlemore than a bureaucratic procedure which does nothingto guarantee the safety or efficacy of the substance inquestion, receiving a DIN is a very expensiveproposition.A supplier must pay the HPB up to $1600 for testing andapproval of each substance which requires a DIN, plus aone-time fee of $750 and an additional annual fee of $500simply for maintaining DIN status. Each supplier of aDIN product must also pay $4500 for a three day routineinspection for product compliance.Each company that manufactures or imports any DINproduct must also pay to have all of its building sitesinspected and approved annually. If the substance isbeing manufactured in a foreign country, the suppliermust pay all transportation and accommodation costs aswell as the inspection fees. Thus it can easily cost over$4000 to licence an importer's location, and $6000 tolicence a manufacturing section.Most companies in the natural health industry carryhundreds of products from all over the world, meaningthat they will soon be approached by a Health Canadainspector, asking for tens of thousands of dollars in returnfor permission to continue selling the herbs and vitaminswhich they already sell. These massive taxes will pushmany natural health stores out of business, and force theremainder to drastically raise the cost of their vitaminsand herbal medicines.International Plan to BanWhile the introduction of new and prohibitive taxes onherbs and vitamins continues in Canada and other nationsaround the world, ominous events are also occurring onthe international level.International treaties like the General Agreement onTariffs and Trade (GATT) and the North American FreeTrade Agreement (NAFTA) are going to be used tocoerce countries to conform to worldwide bans on herbalsupplements. GATT and NAFTA are to be used as toolsto enforce a set of international standards on productscalled "Codex Alimentarius" (Latin for "food code").The Codex was originally created by the World HealthOrganization as a set of standards which would beapplied internationally, so that consumables could beshipped from country to country without the problemsposed by having different standards in every nation. It isclaimed that Codex is meant only to be a recommendedstandard, but GATT and NAFTA both include sectionswhich refer back to the Codex, making it enforceable bytrade sanctions.3If a country like Canada fails to comply with Codex, itwill be isolated from trade with other "family" countriesof GATT and NAFTA, which accounts for virtuallyevery country on the planet, until it agrees to ban andrestrict the availability of all dietary supplements,including herbs and vitamins. The threat of trade barriershas traditionally been reserved for countries with amongother things, lenient drug policies. Consider the recenttrade barriers imposed by the French president JacquesChirac against Holland.The incestuous dependence of countries on internationaltrade is being used to effectively negate a country'sinternal powers of democracy.Pharmacy of GreedToday, the world-wide health market is undergoing aproduct repolarization opposed to the interests of bigpharmaceutical business. People are buying fewerpharmaceutical drugs and more health food, vitamins,and herbs. More money is staying in the local economiesof independently owned stores, and less money isavailable to fuel the hunger of multinationalcorporations.Health food stores are appearing on every corner. WorldHealth Organization studies show that even in 1985, 80%of the world and 60% of North Americans used herbs ascures for common ailments on a regular basis.Worse yet for multinational pharmaceutical interests,health food also has a tendency to make people sick lessoften, so the market is shrinking at the same time as it isrepolarizing. If people relied more often onpharmaceutical cures, the market would be growingrather than shrinking. This is because 8 million people arehospitalized each year for ailments caused by theingestion of prescription drugs.4-17- Traditional African Clinic October 2007Originally, Codex threatened to facilitate the movementof the market away from pharmaceuticals by loweringinternational standards for natural products. The loweringof international standards would mean that traditionalhealing substances with a proven track record would besubject to even less scrutiny than they already are. Theycould be sold without the expensive testing procedures orlicensing imposed on pharmaceuticals. Consequently,Continued on page 18

Continued from page 17 – Herbal Holocaustthey would be easily available and also cost less thanpharmaceuticals. By the law of supply and demand, theywould continue to take more of the market than the drugsproduced by big business.Is it a coincidence that large pharmaceutical companieshave backed a proposal to make Codex Alimentarius avehicle for the destruction of the world-wide health foodindustry?Old Nazi Chemists & the HPBIG Farben was a German chemical company which,among other things, produced Zyclon B, the poison gasused in WWII German death camps. They even operatedtheir own concentration camp during this period, wherescientific experimentation on human subjects wascommonplace.5 IG Farben was also the originators ofheroin, methadone and nylon. Their nylon patents weresnatched up by Dupont after the war. Now the progeny ofIG Farben threaten the health of all people, world-wide.When WWII ended, IG Farben was broken into threesubsidiary companies as a result of the Nuremburg WarTrials. These companies are Bayer, BASF, and Hoescht.At the October, 1996 meeting of Codex, in Bonn,Germany, IG Farben's subsidiary companies sponsoredan amendment to restrict traditionally proven remedies bysubjecting them to the same ineffective and expensivetesting procedures as new pharmaceutical drugs.The German proposal also included an amendment to banhealth food, vitamins, and herbs from being sold fortherapeutic uses, striking a blow at the very heart of thehealth-food philosophy. The proposal was accepted, withan overwhelming majority of the delegates voting infavour of the amendment.Canada loves CodexThe Canadian Health Protection Branch, which has beenfacing extinction as the result of recent governmentcutbacks, fully supports the Codex proposals, which falldirectly in line with their own efforts at self-preservation.With Codex proposals firmly in place, the HPB couldgain new life as an enforcement agency for a whole newclass of illegal substances, even while raking in millionsin licensing fees for the few substances they deem"market-worthy".The Canadian delegate to Codex, Dr Mary Cheney of theHPB, didn't just vote for the German amendments toCodex, but went so far as to propose further restrictiveamendments. She proposed a "negative list" which wouldgive Codex delegates the power to fully prohibit anyherb, vitamin, or health food which they decide is"dangerous".It's surprising that there were any votes at all againstthese amendments, considering that about 90% of Codexdelegates are representatives from large internationalpharmaceutical companies. Because of the Bonnconference, Codex has been transformed into a weaponfor the destruction of health food industries everywhere.International agreements are delivering democracy firmlyinto the hands of the corporate elite.Manufacturing IgnoranceSince beginning their campaign to inform the publicabout Codex, John Hammell, an American health activist,and Zoltan Rona, a Canadian health activist, have beeneffectively ignored by an unresponsive media. Speakingengagements and the internet have been their onlyavailable contact points with the public.The HPB has been desperately trying to keep Rona'stestimony from public awareness. So far he has beenblocked from speaking at medical conferences in Torontoand Calgary. Similarly, John Hammell, while attemptingto cross into Canada, was red-flagged at customs, anddelayed so as to be blocked from speaking at a publichealth conference.Government SilenceGovernment officials seem wary of the topic as well.When Codex is mentioned in the press by governmentofficials it is only mentioned indirectly, as the "healthfood issue", or as the "regulation issue", buried deepunder other unimportant articles. In an attempt to diffusethe issue before the ‘97 Canadian federal election, thefederal government announced that it would form an"expert panel" to consider the "regulation issue". Theinternational implications of Codex were not mentionedin the press release, leaving the average voter unaware ofthe real issue.The likely goal of such tactics is to placate those sectionsof the public who know something about Codex, withoutfurther spreading the message to everyone else. AsRobert McMaster of the Canadian Coalition for HealthFreedom (CCHF) notes, "there have twice been expertadvisory committees' on herbs, and every time they met,they made a nice report, and then they did nothing." Halfhearted"government commissions" have long been thetool of politicians seeking to postpone and defuse issueswhich they plan to do nothing about. Witness the"comprehensive review" of our drug policy, promised asa consolation for those opposed to the passage of theControlled Drugs and Substances Act.Killing the SourceWhen the Europeans set out to conquer North America,their arsenal included disease and dependence. BecauseAmerindian tribes were less resistant to EuropeanContinued on page 21-18- Traditional African Clinic October 2007

African Traditional Herbal Research ClinicVolume 2, Issue 7 NEWSLETTER July 2007FEATURED ARTICLESHow Food Helps the Body Heal ItselfBy Professor Charles Ssali, MBChB FRCS (ED)Mariandina Aids Research FoundationHuman life was meant to be sustained by the use ofnutrients from natural sources. These sources are thefoods from plants, vegetables, fruits, and herbs but notfrom animal sources.It is these nutrients that the body requires to buildtissues that are used to renew itself and replace thosethat are damaged. The body has its own defencemechanism which is the immune system. It is theimmune system that defends the body against thenumerous bacteria and viruses in our environment. Foras long as the body has an intact immune system, thesebacteria, viruses and fungus will have no adverse effecton the health of the individual. A person may be inperfect health despite the presence of bacteria, fungusand viruses on the skin, inside our intestines, lungs andin our blood circulation. The organisms are sometimesbeneficial to us by their ability to produce someessential vitamins in the gut. This symbioticcoexistence is only maintained for as long as we keepour body well supplied with food that is properlybalanced in order to maintain our immune systemintact. The immune system has what are called defencecells and chemical weapons called antibodies.It is these two parts of the immune system that keep thepotentially offensive organisms at bay.If an individual fails to keep the body supplied with theessential nutrients, then the bacteria and viruses get theupper hand of the defences and produce disease in oursystems.If we eat foods, which are low in nutrient value, webecome deficient and susceptible to diseases likediabetes, asthma, cancer and virus infections.Diseases like AIDS, Scurvy and rheumatic fevers andjoint pains are just a few out of so many others that aresecondary to some form of nutritional breakdown ordeficiency. Whenever that deficiency is corrected bythe resumption of a balanced diet, then the problem issolved and the disease disappears with all its symptomsand signs. Failure to achieve that means that one hasnot taken enough of the nutrients. A disease onlybecomes incurable if it is left for too long untreated tillbody tissues become destroyed beyond repair. In otherwords all diseases should be treatable using nutritionalsupplements to make up the deficiency.Clinical experience shows that all deficiency diseasescan be reproduced in the body if the nutrientresponsible is withheld from the individual.By the same token, all diseases should be treatable ifthe lacking nutrients are identified and supplied inliberal quantities.The use of food items that have been artificially alteredby the addition of preservatives, artificial colours,sweeteners or genetic manipulation may cause diseasein the individual using them.-19- Traditional African Clinic October 2007Foods like refined sugar where the natural compositionhas been changed by the removal of minerals andvitamins may cause degenerative diseases like diabetes,rheumatoid arthritis and many others. This is the reasonwhy the animals that feed on molasses that we throwaway do not suffer from deficiency diseases whichaffect people that own them. Our close relatives theprimates that live naturally in the forests are healthierthan ourselves. It is because of their balanced diet thatthey do not suffer from diabetes, asthma, arthritis,lupus, hepatitis and even cancer at the rate they occur inhuman beings. Monkeys do not cook their food or tryrefine it like us and hence they do not destroy thenutrients that are naturally occurring in foods likeunpolished rice, wheat and raw cane sugar which givethe brown colour to those foods. Research has shownthat by supplementing our diet with concentratedvitamins, minerals, plant hormones, enzymes andamino acids, we can eliminate most of those diseasesthat now afflict man. The pharmaceutical products thatwe use to treat many of our ailments are the very onesthat produce the toxicity symptoms that the doctorstreat with even more toxic drugs to compound theproblems of their patients. An individual treated forContinued on page 20

Continued from page 19 – How Food Helps the Body HealItselfhigh blood pressure ends up needing treatment forsecondary impotence or muscle pains caused by the drugsprescribed for him. Those on treatment for diabetes oftendie from stroke or coronary heart disease both promotedby the treatment.Cancer patients are more likely to die from thechemotherapy and irradiation treatment used to treat thecancer itself. Those that do not seek medical treatment inhospitals often live longer despite the doom predicted bytheir doctors.Radiotherapy and chemotherapy destroy tissues and theimmune system that are necessary for the recovery of thepatient from cancer. The cancer starts in the body wherethe immune system has been weakened because of factorlike chemicals used as medicines, poor nutrition,irradiation etc. Therefore these same agents could not bereasonably used to treat the very diseases that theycaused!By the same token, toxic chemicals like AZT cannot treatsuccessfully an immune disorder like AIDS withoutcausing a further deterioration of the immune system.In Uganda the author has used nutrients to improve thestatus of health of over 18000 people who had contractedHIV/AIDS. In 80% of these patients, improvementoccurred within a short time when they started on herbalnutritional supplements combined with an increasedintake of vegetables and fruits.These results were met with violent opposition from themultinational pharmaceutical companies alarmed by ournew found success based on our ancestral heritage. It isbecause they cannot patent these nutritional supplementsfrom foods and herbs for financial gain and monopoly.Supplements from natural sources are capable ofsuccessfully treating conditions like arthritis, diabetes,asthma, lupus, cancer and viral diseases like HIV/AIDSand hepatitis.It is this potential healing power of herbs that promptedthe pharmaceutical companies of the world to formulatethe CODEX Alimentarius that threatens to take away theuse of vitamins, minerals and herbs from the publicthrough a United Nations legislation. The war against thismultinational drug companies greed has started and it isdestined to succeed. The deception is being exposed bythe truth about the value of alternative medicine and theimportance of nutrition. Medical doctors are experiencingan ever increasing demand for holistic medicine asopposed to allopathic chemical based drugs of thepharmaceutical industries. This is just the beginning andthe end of the struggle is not yet in sight. ☻☻☻☻☻☻Continued from page 15- Villager Finds Life EmbalmingHe calls this, his dream job and his experience at themortuary, provided the stimulation to kickstart it. Most ofhis village-mates are poor and some cannot affordmortuary bills. “I was surprised when people startedlooking for my assistance since many knew my formerjob,” said Mr Oguma in an interview with SmartbizAfrica at his home in Kangeso, a three hour drive fromKisumu town.He charges between Kshs500 and Kshs 1,000 to apply theherbs to the body, and clients have started coming inneighbouring areas. In “a good” month he makes betweenKshs 8,000 and Kshs 10,000, earning that have made hima sort of village celebrity. “There is not much differencebetween what I do and what other people do. It is just ajob like any other business, except that the people I workwith cannot talk and see. They are dead,” he said.“Just as the doctor is compassionate and concerned aboutthe well-being of his patient, I am very concerned thatanyone who is placed in my care is treated with a lot ofcare and dignity. “When someone dies, the body is lacedon wet sand to keep the body cold, just like the mortuarycoolers would. He then washes it using salty water andherbs to drain the body of fluids.“Salt is used in many homes to preserve food and that isthe way I also use it to wash the body. It is a goodpreservative.” Luo customary laws prohibit “outsiders”from touching the body, so he makes sure close relativesstand guard. “Some people may have evil intentions,” hesaid. “When the body is touched by an outsider, itdecomposes faster and starts smelling.”If the rules are followed, he says, a dead person can evenstay for two to three days without rotting. Besides, thefeet are washed by in-laws using the salty water and thebody placed on the left side of the house to await burial.Much as he is revered in this village, not everyone wantsto shake his hands or just keep his company-some adultsand most children are likely to change direction whenthey see him. But the old man isn’t shaken.“Just as they like their jobs, this is the job I like most andthey should keep in mind that somebody will have tohandle their body when the time comes. “He says hecould still take a job at any morgue in the country as thatis the only thing he is qualified to do. “Although somepeople try to isolate themselves from me,” he says. “I donot see why they should behave like that. I’m a normalperson.Business Unusual is a showcase for Smartbizafrica.comstories that notably original, surprising, amusing or justplain interesting.☻☻☻☻☻☻-20- Traditional African Clinic October 2007

Continued from page 18 – Herbal Holocaustdisease, they died by the millions. Because Amerindiansbecame dependent on goods brought from the NewWorld, they forgot their traditional ways of life, and wereforced into trade. Skins for guns, metal kettles andknives. The fur trade opened up North America once andfor all to European settlers.Disease and dependence continue to be the tools bywhich multinational corporations enslave the world'spopulace. By placing themselves between Canadians andthe traditional healing arts, the multinationalpharmaceutical companies ensure that their hold over usremains strong. The gardener and naturopath, the growerand the shaman, all are outlawed in a society that seeks toexchange our bond with the earth for a bond of slavery.With a monopoly on health, the pharmaceuticalcompanies will have the power to extort the last pennyfrom ailing seniors and sick children, while those whocan't pay will be left to die. Who won't be willing to selleverything they have to save a loved one from disease?Synthetic cures won't come cheap when there's nocompetition or alternative.A health food store owner, who wishes to remainanonymous, has visions of a Canada without medicare."Right now they have plans to pad the system. Becausesoon whenever someone wants to get Vitamin C, theywill have to go to a doctor for a prescription. All of thosevisits will be charged to medicare, and sooner or later themedicare system will be bankrupt."When the medicinally beneficial hemp plant wasoutlawed, North America lost a versatile medicine, aswell as an efficient means to produce paper, fabric, andmany other items. This resulted in the unchecked cuttingof our forests, and the massive use of pesticides to growless hardy cotton. When all herbs are outlawed, and ourattachment to the earth is more fundamentally shaken,what destruction will be unleashed upon the earth then?Canadians need to learn a lesson from the prohibition ofcannabis and act out against the banning of other healingherbs, before the entire world is sacrificed to greed.Banned SubstancesThe following herbs are among many considered by theHealth Protection Branch to be harmful substances whichmay be seized by Customs or wherever they are sold:American Mandrake, Mayapple, American Mistletoe,False Mistletoe, American Pennyroyal oil, AmericanSassafras oil, Autumn Crocus, Meadow Saffron, Barberryroot and its extract, Betel Nut, Bittersweet, Nightshade,Bloodroot, Brazilian Sassafras oil, Ocotea Cymbarumoil, Calabar Bean, Calamus, Camphor Oil, CannabisSativa, Cascara Sagrada, Castor Bean, Catha Edulis,Chaparral, Coltsfoot, Common Celandine, CommonComfrey, Coonties Seeds, Florida Arrowroot Seeds,Croton Daphne, Mezereum, Deadly Nightshade, DevilPepper, Dogbane, Ephedra, Euphorbia, Spurge,European Mandrake, European Mistletoe berries,European Pennyroyal Oil, Foxglove, Germander, GinkgoBiloba Seed and Fruit, Golden Ragwort, Gotu Kola,Hemlock, Henbane, Kenbane, Horse Chestnut, JimsonWeed, Thornapple, Lantana, Lily of the Valley, Lobelia,Indian tobacco, Micranthrum Oil, Narcissus, Daffodil,Jonquil, Opium Poppy, Poison Nut, Prickley Comfrey,Ragwort, Red Baneberry, Red Pokeweed, RussianComfrey, Sage Oil, Savan Oil, Senna, Spanish Arrowroot,Spreading Dogbane, Bitter Root, Strophanthus, TansyOil, Thuja, White Cedar, Tonka Bean, White Bryony,White Baneberry, Wormseed, Yellow Jessamine,Yohimbe.Over the past decade, the HPB has removed at least thefollowing natural supplements from Canadian health foodstores. They are generally available in the USA withoutprescription: Pau D'Arco (taheebo), Arginine, Ornithine,Lysine, Carnitine, Tyrosine, D,L-Phenylalanine,Goldenseal, Tryptophan, Kava Kava, Melatonin, DHEA,Pregnenolone, Stevia, Chromium Picolinate, Germanium,Zinc, Manganese and anything else picolinate, VitaminK, Cramp Bark, Boron, Selenomethione, Horsetail,Sodium Oxide Dismutase.If vitamins, herbs, and other dietary supplements arebeing banned or restricted to protect public health, then itwould make sense that such health foods must pose anequal or greater health risk than the patentedpharmaceutical drugs which are fated to replace them.Yet vitamins and herbs are the most risk-free treatmentsin the world. When released to the general population,herbal treatments for particular diseases have been shownto be both safer and more effective than theirsynthetically produced pharmaceutical counterparts.Footnotes1. Codex:International Threat to Health Freedom, JohnHammell. Essay. 1996.2. HPB-Codex Connection Kills DHEA, Zoltan P. Rona.Essay. 1997.3. Will International Harmonization End Health Freedom?,Suzanne Harris. Essay.4. Archives of Internal Medicine, Journal. October 9, 1995.5. The Crime and Punishment of IG Farben, Joseph Borkin.New York: The Free Press, 1978.6. Canadian Health Protection Branch under fire, LauraEggertson. Article in The Globe and Mail, May 30, 1997.http://www.blackherbals.com\herbal_holocaust____underground_.htm☻☻☻☻☻☻-21- Traditional African Clinic October 2007

Most Foreign Sangomas in SAare UgandansHassan IsilowSunday LifeApril 22, 2007A sangoma or an inyanga refers to a person who practicestraditional (herbal) medicine or has supernatural healingpowers among Southern African communities. The herbalmedicines that Sangomas produce is referred to as muthi.Sangomas are believed to perform healing, embedded in thebeliefs of diverse cultures in Southern Africa, that ancestorsin the after life guide and protect the living.Therefore, due to these superstitious beliefs, sangomas areconsidered to be holy men and women who can bring goodluck to their communities and chase away evil spirits(referred to as mayembe in Luganda).As a result of this respect and many incentives that go withthis lucrative healing profession, foreign sangomas havejoined the healing market promising the highlysuperstitious Southern African communities “heaven onearth.”Interestingly, the highest numbers of these foreignsangomas are Ugandans who claim to cure all sorts ofillnesses that even the most powerful local sangomascannot dare treat.The Ugandan sangomas claim to make the poor rich in twodays, bring back lost lovers and make men’s private partsbigger and more virile. They also promise to protectbusinesses from thieves, win court cases and the lottoamong others. Therefore, due to their alleged expertise,Ugandan sangomas are now considered to be the hottesthealers in this business of sorcery.One such ‘doctor’ is Isabirye Mutalemwa a 65 year-oldman whose business name is Dr. Kifaro Mutalemwa. Heoperates his business in a well-furnished office locatedalong Bree and Von-Brandis streets in Johhannesburg citycentre. Isabirye says he is a genuine traditional healer,bragging that he is even well known among Ugandancommunities back in Namabasa Village, Nakaloke Subcountyin Mbale District where he hails from.Isabirye who is now a recognized South African citizencame to South Africa in 1997, after the end of the apartheidera. He says that after learning from a friend that herbalistswere on demand in South Africa, he packed his bags andbegan his long journey by road to South Africa, withouteven acquiring a visa.When he reached Zimbabwe, he found a group of otherUgandans who advised him on how to “jump” the South-African border. So they took him to River Limpopo thatborders South Africa and Zimbabwe, where he was told toswim across and he would be in South Africa. They wereabout 20 other people who crossed the river with him, butunfortunately some of them were mauled by crocodileswhile others drowned. He says it was a very sad experiencefor him.Isabirye remember that by then, there were only a fewtraditional healers coming from foreign countries and as aresult they made a lot of money in the ‘profession’ andwhenever they returned to Uganda, their neighbours andfamily members insisted on coming with them down toSouth Africa, thus creating the current influx of Ugandanhealers in South Africa.Although there are many Ugandan nationals in this trade,most of them are quack doctors who barely know anythingabout traditional healing but are out to make a quick buckout of the superstitious South African community whobelieve in spirits and ancestral powers.A sangoma’s powers are not supposed to be questioned, sthey are believed to be directly connected to ancestralspirits. As a result of this belief many Ugandans includinggraduates have joined this lucrative business, even whenthey know nothing about this ‘profession’. One such doctoris Kavuma. He declines to indulge his second name, but hisclients call him Dr Maluume Kojja. He is just 27 years-oldand a graduate of Economics from Makerere University.He says that when he came to South Africa for greenerpastures, he could not readily get employment because ofthe high level of unemployment among South Africans.Friends advised him to start a surgery (essabo) butunfortunately he had no money to start up the business. Sohe was given a temporary job by another Ugandan sangomato supply leaflets to passers-by containing the sangomasadverts.After three months of doing the job, he was in position tostart up his own surgery (shrine). He admits that he didn’tknow much about the service, but he was trained by elderlyUgandan sangomas who had already been in the trade aboutthe tricks. Unlike in Uganda, where traditional healers aretested and registered by the Uganda Traditional HealersAssociation, (locally known as Uganda n’eddagala lya yo),in South Africa, it is a different story altogether. All oneneeds is $1,000 that he uses to hire a fully furnished officewithin the city centre and make boxes of leafletsadvertising his expertise and clients start flocking in.The traditional healer normally asks for Rands 30 (aboutShs9,000) as a consultation fee from his clients before hespeaks to them. Then they are charged according to theproblem they want him to solve.Continued on page 23-22- Traditional African Clinic October 2007

Continued from page 23 – Foreign Sangomas are UgandanSome healers even demand to see their clients’ pay slipsor bank accounts (these are called 10 per cent doctors)and they usually make sure their client pays 10 percent oftheir salaries to them.Since the powers of the sangoma cannot be questionedaccording to most South African beliefs, some healershave gone to the extent of asking their clients to bring alltheir possessions for cleansing, with threats that if theydon’t, they will lose their children and wealth.It would have been well and good if all these demandwould actually help cleanse their clients’ property, butunfortunately these are tricks used mostly by quacksangomas to fleece those who believe in their tales (Thistrick is locally referred to as ekiwani in the South Africanhealing circles).One sangoma named Babu from Uganda is wanted by theSouth African Police for reporting fleecing a localbusinesswoman of Rands 300,000 (about 40,000), whomhe allegedly told to withdraw all her savings and bring itfor cleansing. When she did, Babu is reported to have lefther at his office’ reception as he used the back door of hisshrine to disappear. His whereabout are still unknown.Babu is not the only Ugandan traditional healer who hascheated his clients. There are several other wanted bypolice in connection to similar events.In another interesting incident that happened last week inDurban, a Ugandan sangoma told his client who hadbrought money for cleansing, to remove all her clothes.In the process of praying for the money, this fellowslowly sneaked out of his shrine and disappeared with thebag full of money and the woman’s clothes. This womancould neither make an alarm nor report the matter topolice but she was left crying naked.These are not the only evil crimes that these sangomashave committed. Some have gone to the extent ofsleeping with their clients. This is common especiallyamong youthful sangomas, who trick their female clientsby telling them that they need to be “washed withmedicine (muthi)” all over their bodies, including theirprivate parts, so as to get good luck but in the processthey have sex with them.Isabirye says he is a genuine sangoma and he complainsthat such characters are spoiling the trade. “I call uponpatients and other fellow sangomas to scrutinize “fake”healers and report them to authorities, otherwise we shallall be considered fake,” he says.But whether they are fake or not, many South Africansbelieve in these traditional healers. Phephsile Maseko aresident of Benoni in Johannesburg says that muthi reallyworks for him. He says that when he was searching fora job, he was cleansed by a Ugandan sangoma whogave him charms for good luck that helped him securea job.“My brother, people have evil hearts, so if you don’tprotect yourself from them, they will harm you. For meI believe in muthi and thanks to my ancestors it reallyworks,” Maseko says.Still, there are those who do not believe in sangomas.Lilly Ntombi a resident of Zola zone in Soweto,Johannesburg bitterly says that muthi does not work.She says that some Nigerian traditional healers gaveher some charms that would make her lost lover returnbut to date her man has never come back. Ntombiinstead appeals to people to believe in God rather thantraditional superstitions.Mike Jay, another South African is bitter with thesepractitioners saying that their medicines don’t work. Hesays that he went to several healers to be givenmedicine to increase the size of his manhood anddespite paying dearly their muthi has never worked.Lavish Life StylesWhether they are quacks or genuine, sangomas neverlack clients and the money always comes in. Becauseof this, most of them live a very lavish lifestyle.Ugandan sangomas are known for driving glamorousconvoys of the latest cars during the weekends as theynormally converge in Pretoria for “bull roasting.” Theydrive BMWs, Golf, Polos, and Mercedes –Benzes.Recently I was impressed when I saw a Ugandansangoma driving a Cadillac. He was dressed in a suitwith matched what his Ugandan girlfriend wore andthey looked like they had just made a guest appearanceon Generations. That is the life of a Ugandan sangomafor you.☻☻☻☻☻☻Continued from page 1 – The African TraditionalHerbal Research CentreThe Clinic is open and operational. Some of theservices we offer are African herbal medicine,reflexology, acupressure, hot and cold hydrotherapy,body massage, herbal tonics, patient counseling, bloodpressure checks, urine testing (sugar), and nutritionalprofiles. Spiritual counseling upon request.Visit us also at www.Blackherbals.comHours: 9:00 am to 6:00 pm Monday thru Friday10 am to 4:00 pm Saturday - Sundays – Closed☻☻☻☻☻☻-23- Traditional African Clinic October 2007

Mission StatementOur aim at The African Traditional HerbalResearch Clinic is to propagate and promote theawareness in Afrikan peoples at home and abroad oftheir health, biodiversity, history and culturalrichness. We gather pertinent information on theseissues and disseminate these freely to our people inUganda, the rest of the continent, and anywhere inthe Diaspora where Afrikans are located…. One ofthe main ingredients for increasing poverty, sickness,exploitation and domination is ignorance of one'sself, and the environment in which we live.Knowledge is power and the forces that control ourlives don't want to lose control, so they won't stop atanything to keep certain knowledge from the people.Therefore, we expect opposition to our mission.However, we will endeavor to carry this workforward in grace and perfect ways.“Where there is no culture, there is no indigenousknowledge. Where there is no indigenousknowledge, there is no history. Where there is nohistory, there is no science or technology. Theexisting nature is made by our past. Let usprotect and conserve our indigenousknowledge.”C ALENDAR OF E VENTSSPECIAL EVENT: AFRICAN TRADITIONAL HERBALIST DAYPLACE: NATIONAL CHEMOTHERAPEUTICS RESEARCHLABORATORY, KAMPALA , UGANDA, EAST AFRICADATE/TIME: OCTOBER??????Afrikan Traditional Herbal Research Centre1175A Mukalazi Road, P.O. Box 29974Bukoto, Kampala, Uganda East AfricaPhone: +256 (0) 41 530 456Email: clinic@blackherbals.comHerb of the MonthMedicinal Uses of HoneyHoney destroys bacteria by absorbing moisture whichkeeps them alive. No germs can live in pure honey. Honeyspread on wounds and sores will prevent infections andstop bleeding. Applied to burns, pure honey will preventblistering and damage to the skin. Leave it on skin untilpain subsides, then wash with cool water. Skin will be likenew.Honey is one of the best cough medicines, especially whenmixed with pure olive oil or lime juice. It will break upmucus and phlegm. Honey taken at night will calm thenerves and bring sound restful sleep with pleasant dreams.A tablespoon of buckwheat honey taken an hour beforebedtime will stop bedwetting in children and adults.Buckwheat honey which is not very sweet is nutritious andmakes a good substitute for pancake syrup.As a beauty aid, warm honey applied to the face makes skinsoft, get rid of wrinkles and blackheads, cleans pores, healsand normalizes oils. A little honey added to the bath doeswonders for the skin.Honey is good for chronic constipation, having a naturallaxative effect. Honey in large amounts will cure insanityand those suffering from a nervous breakdown. It is anatural nerve tonic.There are different kinds of honey from all over the world;lotus honey from India, which is dropped into the eyes as acure for cataracts, snow white honey from Siberia, blackhoney from Brazil, logwood honey from Jamaica, cleargreen honey from Africa that comes from a red comb,bittersweet honey from the Bittersweet tree in Jamaica,yellow honey from the cassia blossoms which is used as anerve tonic and laxative. From “Basic Herbs for Health andHealing” by Rashan Abdul Hakim, 1989.☻☻☻☻☻☻BULK RATEUS POSTAGEPAIDPERMIT00000NO.ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTEDMailing AddressStreet Number and NameCity, Country, etc.-24- Traditional African Clinic October 2007