Traditional healers take stand against ‘fakes’

TRADITIONAL healers in North West gathered in Rustenburg this week to create laws to regulate their practice.

The two-day summit was called after traditional healers raised concerns about illegal abortions performed by bogus healers advertising false promises of curing HIV/AIDS, making people rich, or bringing back lost lovers.

The chairperson of the newly established North West Provincial Traditional Healers Practitioners Forum, Obakeng Mooki, said traditional healers need to do whatever it takes to restore dignity to their heritage, cultural customs and healing methods.

“As traditional healers we are very concerned about the growing ideas that strip traditional healing and its methods of dignity.

“That is why we have approached the department (of culture, arts and traditional affairs) to raise our concerns. Our children die from backstreet abortions people claim to be able to do,” he said.

The acting North West premier, Wendy Nelson, praised the traditional healers in their efforts to fight bogus doctors.

She said it was important for traditional healers and dikgosi (traditional leaders) to deal with the criminal acts that degraded their status.

“As a province, we are faced by many social ills. We applaud our traditional healers for coming together to deal with them.

“One of those is the deteriorating moral compass which is based on bogus doctors giving false things to our people,” she said.

“In every corner we see these illegal advertisements. They have taken over every signpost and corner. They target our people who are suffering and in bad situations. We need to protect our people, thus thankful for the unity.” – African News Agency (ANA)