The Sunday Mail
IN a bid to safeguard the profession, the Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association is re-registering members to stamp out bogus practitioners.
The re-registration started two weeks and run for five years.
Zinatha president Mr George Kandiero said there was an increase in people masquerading as their affiliates and duping patients.
“Many people are disguising themselves as traditional healers and are selling herbal remedies under the banner of Zinatha and some even go to the extent of advertising their services in newspapers and through fliers,” said Mr Kandiero. “In rural areas we have received reports that individuals are fleecing villagers of their livestock under our banner. Others are putting people’s health at risk by using one razor blade for two patients.
“All those deceiving people pretending to be traditional healers and operating with fake licenses are only doing it for the sake of money.”
Mr Kandiero said Zinatha would also issue identity cards with security features for bona fide members as some individuals were forging current documents and operating illegally.
“The new identity cards which will be issued under the re-registration exercise are characterised by a watermark that can’t be reproduced,” explained Mr Kandiero.
The last census of traditional healers in the mid-90s showed there were at least 50 000 practitioners.
Fake traditional healers continue to appear before the courts on charges ranging from sexual abuse to fraud; and the public has been encouraged to consult healers who have valid certificates bearing the new security features.
After registration with Zinatha, healers’ names are forwarded to the Traditional Medical Practitioners Council for licensing.
“And we are hereby making a call to all genuine traditional healers to come forward for the re-registration. After this exercise is closed, those operating illegally will be brought to book,” Mr Kandiero said.
“The exercise is meant to weed out unregistered practitioners who stage manage their activities in order to con people,” said Mr Kandiero.
Apart from re-registering its members, Zinatha will also produce literature in Shona and Ndebele on the traditional healers’ code of conduct.
