Are these healers or lords of deception?

By Kenfrey Kiberenge

They claim to heal all sorts of terminal and incurable illnesses, ranging from HIV/Aids to cancer.

The treatment, they say, is faultless. And for this reason, they are the most sought-after people by terminal patients.

In some cases, patients have been picked from hospital beds to get this healing that is considered "specialised and advanced".

Welcome to the world of crooked herbalists and televangelists.

While not all televangelists fall in this category, the crooked ones use their TV programmes to deceive the public about their ‘powers’.

They claim to cure everything, including diseases that conventional medicine cannot treat. There’s a thin line between spiritual healing and deception. Photos: Courtesy

To make their claims credible, a HIV or cancer patient is paraded before the cameras with their clothes off to show how frail they are. Then, viewers are shown the same person a few weeks later and how they have gained weight after supposedly being cured of the terminal ailment.

Send shock waves

The revelations are supposed to send shockwaves in the congregation and viewers at home.

As for the herbalists, they use testimonials in paid-for TV and radio programmes as well as newspaper classifieds, where they claim to cure diseases that conventional medicine can’t cure.

The list of ailments include cancer, HIV/Aids, leukaemia and hepatitis B. And because of these claims, patients flock their clinics. Leah Mogere was found by The Standard on Saturday waiting at a popular herbal clinic. She said her problem could only be solved by a herbalist.

"I have been moving from one hospital to another in my rural area and even after spending Sh180,000, I am still sick. I was told by a relative that these people have proper medicine for my illness," said Mogere.

Like herbalists, some televangelists also con desperate individuals.

This was exposed in March.

Lucy Nduta, a lead pastor at Salvation Healing Ministry, was handed a two-year jail term after being convicted by a Kiambu court of defrauding vulnerable people of more than Sh1.6 million by claiming she could cure HIV/Aids.

Many people said they had paid for the ‘healing’ between 2004 and 2006.

Paid to act

There have been claims people are paid to stage manage the testimonials to draw more followers to some churches and televangelists.

Money is usually the motivating factor in both cases.

Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board (KMPDB) Chief Executive Daniel Yumbya says the board has unearthed several cases where herbalists pay people to act.

The National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) General Secretary, Reverend Canon Peter Karanja, says while faith healing is possible, there are pastors who are taking advantage of the vulnerability of people infected by deadly diseases to defraud them.

Dr Yumbya says the rogue herbalists and pastors are not only swindling Kenyans of huge sums of money but also breaching ethics in medical arena.

He says while the conventional doctors are barred from advertising their services in the media, the herbalists can do so.

"There is need to regulate these adverts because these people also refer to themselves as doctors. To a person in the rural area, it is impossible to tell the difference," he says.

But some herbalists have defended their actions saying they only create awareness among Kenyans about existence of alternative treatment.

Kenya Neem Foundation Director Herman Mwongo says he fully supports the regulation of herbalists.

"There are fake people who are out to make quick money and these are the ones who are spoiling for the rest of us," says Mwongo.

Under the Kenyan law, it is illegal for a media house to air an advert that has misleading information. The Kenya Information and Communications Act says: "All licensed broadcasters shall ensure that advertisements, either in terms of content, tone or treatment, are not deceptive or are not repugnant to good taste."

Yumbya adds 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.

"Let them be subjected to laboratory testing because we need to have clinical information about them. It is even difficult to know the number of people who have died in their hands," he says.

Mwongo agrees all herbal medicines should be subjected to labaratory tests since "there are quacks who mix sawdust with Chinese products and say this can heal". The foundation has been seeking clearance from the board before stocking their drugs.

Mr James Njoroge of Nairobi-based Institute of Herbal Medicine argues time is ripe for the country to embrace traditional medicine as they have shown tremendous results.

"Some of the conventional medicines have dire side effects which are at times irreversible," says Njoroge.

He, however, agrees some herbalists have gone too far by claiming they can heal all diseases.

"It is true there are herbalists who are out to make money but at the same time, there are those who are genuine," he says.

He adds his institute has applied to the KMPDB for clearance.

False claims

Speaking to The Standard on Saturday, Reverend Karanja acknowledged there are pastors who make claims they can cure, "yet it is the prerogative of God to know who to cure and who not to heal".

He notes Kenyans should not be hoodwinked into abandoning conventional medicines for faith healing since the two complement each other.

"Even if you believe in faith healing, as a patient you should first get a clinical diagnosis of the disease and once the signs and symptoms have disappeared, you should go back to the same doctor for a clinical diagnosis to ascertain whether the disease has gone," he explains.

He advises Kenyans to examine the professional and theological backgrounds of pastors making such claims.