Doctors at a government hospital in the city Bulawayo have given up on treating a young woman who is suffering from a strange illness which traditional healers say is caused by a witchcraft curse. She is now looking for help from traditional doctors or healers.

By Thabo Kunene

Traditional healers in the city say doctors can not treat the disease or illness because their drugs have no power over black magic or witchcraft.

The woman from the small village of Nkwalini in Northern Matabeleland province was brought to hospital vomiting small pots, buckets, braids and plates. Some villagers fled when they saw the scene. Now people from other villages are scared to visit the area.

At Mpilo Hospital, doctors failed to diagnose the cause of the illness. They gave her drugs to stop vomiting without any result. Now some local hospital doctors have appealed to traditional doctors known as Inyanga to help save the girl’s life.

‘If the woman does not get treatment soon, she will die of dehydration and lack of water in the body, said one doctor to Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW). He didn’t want to be identified because he was not authorised to speak to the media. ‘She is now too weak to walk because of the vomiting.’

Curse
According to local Inyanga, a traditional healer, popularly known in Bulawayo as Gogo Matshabalala, the woman was cursed in her village. She says she can be cured if she undergoes a traditional cleansing ceremony.

‘First this woman needs to confess what she did. If she stole from someone she must admit and the wronged person should be given a beast as compensation and then she can get treatment.’

The treatment, according to Gogo Matshabalala, will involve taking a cow to the river. Once there they should slaughter the cow. They must not eat the meat but bury all of it by the river. The family is supposed to dig the grass where the meat is buried and bury the items the woman vomited.

Ilibo
Another traditional healer Cephas Mhlanga tells me that the woman’s illness is called ‘Ilibho’ whereby the wronged person cast a spell on the offender. “Without a confession this woman won’t be cured.’

One of the woman’s relatives told RNW the illness started when the victim returned from fetching firewood. ' We were shocked and confused as to what to do, ' said her relative, Sipho Moyo. A police officer in Tsholotsho appealed for anyone who has knowledge of such diseases to come forward to save the woman’s life before its too late.

God
Mpilo Hospital chief medical officer Dr Lindiwe Mlilo told the state-owned paper, The Chronicle that she had never witnessed such an illness throughout her years as a medical practitioner. His colleague who wants to stay anonymous admits that sometimes patients are referred to traditional healers. 'I have treated strange illnesses before but I have never come across anyone vomiting pots and plates. This is pure devil’s work. Definitely no western medicine can treat this kind of sickness. Only inyangas can do it or faith healers who pray to God.’