Of herbalists and ‘doctors’ for all seasons

By Kenfrey Kiberenge

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. This is believed to be an ancient Roman proverb, where people believed the fruit had magical powers to cure illnesses.

While it is proven fruits indeed help in preventing many diseases, most Kenyans seem to have kicked them out of menu.

And for this reason, Stephen Mbugua now can place a meal on his table every day to remind Kenyans that they need to revert to eating fruits.

Armed with beetroots, pumpkins, garlic, white onions, rosemary leaves (Rosmarinus officinalis), sodom apple, sweet potato, cucumber, ginger and lemon, he sets up small tent along Nairobi’s Moi Avenue.

Street Herbalist Stephen Mbugua at his tent on Moi Avenue, Nairobi. [PHOTOS: JENIPHER WACHIE/STANDARD]

Before he completes unpacking, a crowd of people have started milling around his small exhibition area, where he has placed bits and pieces of vegetables.

But Mbugua is not your usual street vendor. He is a traditional medic who uses combination of the ordinary vegetables and fruits to treat diseases. He epitomises what has become the norm in most city streets — hawking herbalists’ menace.

First, they claimed to heal all sorts of diseases, even where conventional medicines have failed.

Now, they have pitched tent in almost every street of downtown Nairobi, literally hawking their medicines that are usually displayed on the ground.

You will find them surrounded by tens of people listening to their prescriptions.

From HIV/Aids to low libido, cancer, barrenness, high blood pressure, detox and tuberculosis, the street herbalists claim to have a remedy for any disease.

They claim fruits and vegetables are all Kenyans need instead of visiting doctors. They also discourage use of carbonated soft drinks and processed foods.

"Most Kenyans fall sick because of eating unhealthy foods and lack of correct nutrition," he says.

Mbugua says besides lime being rich in vitamin C, it can treat flu if put in cold water as opposed to hot water. It can also be used as anti-septic, spermicidal, antiviral and anti-tetanus.

The beauty of vegetables

For him, pumpkin can treat ulcers and heartburn. He also claims it is rich in zinc that can strengthen white blood cells hence healing HIV and prevent cancer by taming abnormal growth of body cells.

Garlic, besides giving pilau that sweet aroma, has the ability to lower high blood pressure, he says, adding that: "It also has sulphur that purifies the blood and can be used as an anti-biotic to heal external tumours."

Near the Railways bus station, another group has pitched tent where two charismatic ladies take turns to explain to passers-by the beauty of the vegetables. The script reads almost the same.

Veronica Mwaniki says the rosemary leaves enhances memory and can take care of insomnia.

"Sweet potatoes can be combined with pumpkins to enhance the ‘y’ chromosomes in a man before copulation, thereby increasing chances of having a boy child," explains Veronica. She brandishes three certification documents. One by Kenyatta University, where she claims to have graduated, another from the City Council of Nairobi authorising her to use the city streets and one from the Ministry of Culture certifying her as traditional herbalist.

But Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board Chief Executive Daniel Yumbya says the board has unearthed several cases where herbalists pay people to give false testimonies.

Dr Yumbya says the rogue herbalists are not only swindling Kenyans of money but also breaching medical ethics.

"There is need to regulate them. Some even refer to themselves as doctors and an ordinary person won’t tell the difference," he says, adding that Kenyans could be exposed to dangerous concoctions in the name of medicines since they are not subjected to laboratory testing by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board.

Irreversible side effects

But James Njoroge, also a street herbalist in downtown Nairobi, argues time is ripe for Kenyans to embrace herbal medicine because "some conventional medicines have irreversible side effects."

He, however, agrees some herbalists have gone too far by claiming they can heal all diseases. "Some are out to make money but others are genuine," Njoroge says.

He claims Indian Gooseberry can cure abnormal menstrual cycle in women. He prescribes ginger for poor blood circulation, painkilling and killing of bacteria. He also says white onions can cure TB if mixed with honey and a raw egg.