HEALED, THE TRADITIONAL WAY

Doctor Mugaga, a traditional healer, with his bones and muti.

HOPE MOTAU

Many traditional healers see Mabopane station as a good place to do business.

Among the traditional healers who practice their rituals and have a surgery, is Doctor Mugaga. He has twelve years experience, but started to work at Mabopane station eight years ago.

Mugaga, who is originally from Uganda said that he treats people who have body pains, sickness, sexual problems, spiritual problems, and helps those who are unable to have children.  He works with other traditional healers and refers some of his patients, whom he is unable to treat, to his colleagues.

 “I do not treat babies, because I do not have knowledge about children’s diseases,” said Mugaga. Mugaga also said: “Some people want promotion at work, but they do not have qualification, so it is not easy for us to help them because that is where their problem lies.  If you have qualifications and do not get promotions after working for many years, it means you have spiritual problems and that is where we intervene.”

There are many traditional doctors working and opening surgeries at Mabopane station and it seems that all of them are making a living from their businesses.

Doctor Mugaga said he is at the station in order to treat people who were sick, not for making money. He said that he rents a room at Block AA but he cannot bring his patients there, because he does not own the premises.

Nobuhle Dlamini from Soshanguve Block GG told Record that she believes more in traditional healers than medical doctors.  She said she was sick a very long time and she was healed by one of the traditional healers at Mabopane station. “I had something living inside my stomach for about a year, which was taken out by a traditional healer. He said it was a snake that tried to block my pregnancy,” said Dlamini.

David Sebotsa of Mabopane Block C said that the traditional healers were very significant on his life and the public must treat them with respect.  “Our fore fathers were only relying on traditional healers before medical doctors came to Africa. There are also some diseases and problems, which medical doctors cannot treat, such as the ‘Tokoloshi’,” said Sebotsa.

Mugaga said ‘Tokoloshi’ could be caused by the wrongful mixture of bloody muti and the trees that are forbidden or by people who are jealous of others. He explained that traditional muti are just like chemicals where the wrongful mixture of chemicals can cause a bad thing.

“The challenges we are facing are people who want us to give them muti to kill others. But as traditional doctors, we are professional and have the ethics.

I cannot give someone muti to kill others, because our main aim is to help people to live, and killing is against our ancestors.” said Mugaga.